LONDON, Nov.15 -- Pop singer Elton John, claiming in a lawsuit that his former manager and accountant mishandled his finances, acknowledged that he ran up a $418,340 florists' bill during a $57 million, 20-month spending spree.
John told the British High Court, "I like flowers.
I don't have any people to leave my money to. I'm a single man. I like to spend money. It's my money to spend."
John, 53, began his legal action after auditors found a $28 million hole in his finances in 1998, the British newspaper the Telegraph reported. He is suing his former manager, Andrew Haydon, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, his former accountants.
John told the court that he had never been interested in the details of his business and financial affairs. The singer tore up financial reports without reading them and refused to see his accountants when they flew to Los Angeles to discuss a "serious financial crisis" with him.
"I am an artist and a performer," he said. "I never had a flair for business. I have a flair for writing songs, I have a flair for composing, I have a flair for performing and making records. I have never had an aptitude for business."
