He was a bad businessman

One of the other interesting facts about Mark Twain is he was a bad businessman. Twain invested money in a variety of poor ventures after finding popularity as a writer, which led to his eventual bankruptcy. Some estimates place the cost of one investment blunder, involving an automated typesetting machine, at close to $200,000. This is a sizable number given that the majority of American families made less than $1,200 a year in 1890. Alexander Graham Bell approached Twain about investing in his new creation, the telephone, but Twain reportedly declined. Twain created many items on his own, including a self-pasting scrapbook that fared well and an elastic trouser strap that did not.

Twain moved his family to Europe in 1891 from his 25-room Hartford house where he had lived since 1874 to live more affordably (he also hoped the change of scenery would help his wife, who was in poor health). Nevertheless, Twain filed for bankruptcy in 1894 as a result of the collapse of the publishing house he had established a decade earlier. He started an international speaking tour the next year to raise money to pay off his obligations, which he was able to achieve within a few years.