Fame comes with its perks, but it also brings unwanted attention. Celebrities often find their privacy invaded and their possessions at risk. When famous people’s belongings are lost or stolen, the odds of recovery are slim. Many items end up sold or become collector’s pieces. However, some lost items do resurface, often with incredible stories attached. Here are ten amusing tales of celebrities’ lost items that were eventually found.
Paul McCartney Got His Beatles Bass Back After 51 Years
Musicians often have signature instruments that are closely tied to their identity. These instruments are frequently stolen. Paul McCartney of The Beatles had his Höfner 500/1 bass guitar returned in 2024, 51 years after it was stolen from a van in London.
McCartney bought the bass in 1961, using it on iconic Beatles tracks like “Love Me Do.” The Lost Bass project located the instrument in a family’s attic in Sussex, UK, thanks to journalists and public tips. The recovery, dubbed “the greatest mystery in the history of rock and roll,” took less than a month to solve.
Slash Finally Paid for His Iconic Top Hat in 2005
Slash, the guitarist for Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver, had his top hat stolen at the 2005 Grammy Awards. The top hat is central to Slash’s image, adopted in 1985 to calm his nerves in front of crowds.
When Slash planned to replace the hat, a man on an LA radio station claimed to have it. Skeptical, Slash still gave the man a “small reward” for its return. The irony? Slash stole his original top hat from an LA shop in 1985, along with the belt he used to style it.
Margaret O’Brien Spent Her Life Searching for Her Stolen Juvenile Oscar
Margaret O’Brien received a Juvenile Academy Award for her role in the 1944 film, Meet Me in St. Louis. Only twelve people have ever received this honor, awarded to recognize outstanding performances by young actors.
Her original Oscar was stolen shortly after she received it. The Academy replaced it, but O’Brien spent years searching for the original. She frequented auctions and antique fairs, and in 1995, her search paid off. The children of the cleaner who stole the Oscar tried to sell it at auction. The Academy alerted O’Brien, and her award was finally returned.
Keanu Reeves’s Stolen Rolex Turned Up on a Different Continent
Keanu Reeves, known for his role as the tough assassin John Wick, has been the victim of several burglaries. In December 2023, his home was targeted by multiple masked men. They stole a gun and other items, including a unique Rolex watch engraved with a thank you message for his work on John Wick 4.
A year later, the watch surfaced during police raids in Santiago, Chile. Chilean authorities confirmed it was Reeves’s and arranged its return.
A Damien Hirst Painting Was Found on Mars
One of Damien Hirst’s paintings traveled farther than Keanu Reeves’s Rolex. The artist contributed the artwork to the Beagle 2 space probe, which headed to Mars. The painting, made of colored dots, helped calibrate the probe’s equipment.
Launched in 2003, communication with the probe was lost during its descent. Presumed lost, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted it on the planet’s surface in 2015, with Hirst’s painting intact. The artist called the discovery “fantastic news!”
Cuba’s Castros Helped Get Hemingway’s Stolen Nobel Back
Ernest Hemingway won the 1954 Nobel Prize for literature but couldn’t attend the ceremony due to injuries from two plane crashes. The U.S. ambassador to Sweden accepted the award on his behalf.
Hemingway intended to gift the 23-karat gold medal to the people of Cuba. Not wanting to give it to the ruling Batista dictatorship, he gifted it to Cuba’s Catholic Church. In 1986, it was stolen during a break-in. The Castro brothers, then in power, admired Hemingway and demanded its return, warning the thieves, “Return the medal within 72 hours or face the consequences. I know who you are.” The medal was promptly returned.
Steve Jobs’s Burglar Was Caught Because of iTunes
After Steve Jobs’s death, his Palo Alto home was burglarized in 2012. The thief stole necklaces, champagne, and Apple products, including an iPad, iMacs, and iPhones. Police believed the house was randomly targeted.
The burglar signed into his own iTunes account on Jobs’s iPad, leading authorities directly to him. He didn’t try to sell priceless memorabilia, making his capture possible.
Two Boston Airport Employees Tried to Steal Neil Armstrong’s Signature
Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, avoided media attention and autographs. However, he still had to sign customs declaration forms. In 2010, two Boston Airport employees tried to auction Armstrong’s declaration form online, starting at $200.
Bidding exceeded $1,000 before the auction was canceled. A federal investigation led to the arrest of the employees for stealing official government records. They received probation, and one lost his 20-year job at the airport.
David Beckham’s Lost Wallet Was Found by Another Sporting Legend
Celebrities aren’t immune to losing wallets. David Beckham lost his wallet in Beverly Hills, and it was found by Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq recounted that he usually just took the money from found wallets and threw them away.
But this wallet looked nicer, and he checked the ID, discovering it belonged to Beckham. Shaq called Beckham, jokingly demanding one million dollars for its return. Beckham saw through the joke, and Shaq returned the wallet—after taking the money, of course.
Bangladeshi Protesters Stole the Prime Minister’s Cat, Then Returned It
In 2024, protests in Bangladesh ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Protesters looted her residence, taking jewelry, clothes, electronics, a guitar, a fridge, and animals, including goats and a cat.
Protest leaders launched a campaign to return the stolen items, recovering around 500 items in weeks. These included the cat, a pigeon, cash, jewelry, and classified documents. One protester who ate a stolen duck returned money instead. Surprisingly, 150 mattresses were also returned.
From stolen instruments to misplaced wallets and even a painting on Mars, these stories highlight the bizarre twists of fate that can befall even the most famous individuals. Whether through luck, intervention, or a guilty conscience, these items eventually found their way back to their rightful owners, creating amusing tales worth sharing.
Which story did you find the most surprising? Leave your comment below!
