I’m sure most of us by now have binge watched Tiger King on Netflix – something about becoming an armchair detective, particularly when there’s not much else going on in lockdown, really appeals. Judging by all the memes and online discussions I’ve seen, I’m not alone in thinking this.

But what does debating whether Carole Baskin killed her husband or not have to do with personal finance you may ask. You’ll be forgiven for thinking very little at all, but in this post I’m going to argue that there are some key lessons we can all learn about our own finances from the documentary.

Before I dive straight into the financial lessons, here’s a quick overview of the plot in case you need a reminder or if you’ve managed to avoid getting sucked into the endless Netflix cycle – if this is you, please tell me your secret!

Beware there’s spoilers ahead

Tiger King follows the story of Joe Exotic, a zoo owner, and his dramatic and bitter rivalry with Carole Baskin, who wants his zoo shut down. This all escalates pretty seriously to the point where Joe is now actually in prison for trying to have Carole killed.

The subplot, although arguably the part that really grabbed the audience’s attention, looks into the disappearance of Carole’s second husband, Don Lewis, who hasn’t been seen for over 20 years. Joe has very publicly accused Carole of murdering him for his money, which she strongly denies.

New developments

Since the documentary aired, the Sheriff investigating Don Lewis’ disappearance has openly said his Will is “100 percent a forgery.” Chad Chronister claims two experts have deemed it to be 100 percent a forgery. However, due to the length of time passed they are not able to take legal action over the Will, but Chad was very clear that the investigation into the disappearance is very much still open.

Read the full post on: The Twenty Percent