William Shatner: I didn’t make money from Star Trek until the reruns

In our How I Manage My Money series, we aim to find out how people are spending, saving and investing to meet their costs and achieve their goals. This week, in our celebrity edition, we speak to Star Trek actor William Shatner, 95, about his investments, living in a pick-up truck and his heavy metal band. When did you first learn about finance? I went to McGill, a really good university, and graduated with a BA in business administration. I did the course because my father asked what I was going to study, and I said: “I don’t know.” I didn’t tell him that I wanted to be an actor. He said: “Why don’t you take business so you can come work with me in the clothing trade when you graduate.” That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I took the course. Shorts Were you a good student? Every year I failed two mathematics subjects and had to retake these in the summer. Part of the problem was that alongside my degree course, I wrote, acted and directed in university musicals and amateur theatre. By my last year, I was taking something like 10 extra subjects, including music and drama, so I did the bare minimum required to pass my business degree. I was the worst business student, but I was responsible for a great deal of the entertainment the university put on. Did you struggle to make ends meet when you started out? I worked in professional theatre in Ottawa and Toronto, paid $40 to $50 a week, and with my rent, clothing, and food, I either ate three meals a day or one meal and did the laundry. That’s how tight my finances were. Did you make any financial mistakes as a young man? I was in Stratford, Ontario one time, and saw a car at a dealership. I bought it for $400 and drove off in this battered old Morris Minor. The next day I thought, what have I done! I drove it back to the dealership and told them I’d made a mistake. I asked would they take the car back. This guy took the car back with no penalties. By 1955, I had saved $500. This was after three years in repertory theatre. Two actors who were making much more money than I was said the prime minister is going to make a statement on making uranium on Friday. They said, ‘If you want to make a lot of money, buy now. I did, and on Friday night the prime minister of Canada said: “We are not buying any more uranium.” That was the end of my $500! What did you take from that experience? The following day, a Saturday, in those matinee and evening performances, I couldn’t act my lines. All I could think of was my $500. I realised how investing or gambling affected me as an artist. Losing that money meant I couldn’t go to New York City and had to go on a provincial tour instead. I learned a valuable lesson, and I saved. Were you a good saver? After the uranium experience, I got married, had children, and for 10 years I could never get more than $1,800 ahead. What was your relationship with money at this time? My relationship with finance was poverty. I needed to take care of my children, and then 12 years after I got married, I got divorced, so I had two households to look after. I was sleeping on a mattress in a tiny house somewhere, while my ex-wife and the children lived in a more expensive area of Los Angeles, going to expensive schools that I was responsible for paying. Did Star Trek give you financial security? You are on the abyss all the time. Compared to someone working in a steel mill they paid us handsomely, but for show business salaries, not too good. As I learned to my chagrin, there were no residuals, no royalties. The union hadn’t realised the value of replays. After three years of Star Trek I couldn’t cash a $15 cheque! You were broke? In order to keep everyone’s heads above water, I had an old pick-up truck and I put a cab in the back to live in. When Star Trek ended I put together a company of actors and did what we call summer stock, playing local venues in holiday locations. A week here, a week there. I was offered 13 weeks on a tour around Cape Cod, living in the truck with a Doberman. When did your financial situation start to improve? I began to get good jobs and became more and more popular when Star Trek came back with reruns, and I started to make money and earned my way out of poverty. I moved from sleeping in a cot in the back of the truck, to a nice cottage, close to where my kids lived. I’ve never slept in the street, but I’ve contemplated it. It was tough. How do you feel about money now? There are a number of forces at work that you only dimly realise when they are at work. One is providing for your children, so you leave enough for them to be secure for a long time. Then you have people who need help, who aren’t doing so well. Then there is a need to make your money work for you. How do you invest without losing, without having a uranium moment? If you lose $5m or $500, it’s the same feeling if that all you have. What are you up to now? I have an album out now called Love and Other Mysteries. I also have a book, a collection of the lyrics from my last five albums, coming out in the next couple of months. Additionally, my daughter, Melanie, and I host a podcast. It came about because, almost concurrently, she got a diagnosis of breast cancer and I had a cancer on my face. We were told that if we’d been diagnosed 10 years earlier we would have died within five months. Melanie was treated for two years; her treatment was a little more severe than mine, but we are both clear. The podcast is called No Time But Now, which focuses on the beauty of life and the importance of remaining positive. Is that all? No. Fifty-five of the largest talents in heavy metal are on my forthcoming heavy metal album, What the F is Heavy Metal?, featuring five original compositions, co-written by me, and seven covers. I have fallen in love with the heavy metal genre because it’s so energising! No Time But Now, presented by healthcare specialists Lifewave, is hosted by William Shatner and Melanie Shatner Gretsch, and available on all the usual platforms