Anthony Ciccone, Madonna’s brother, is homeless

In an interview last week with the local newspaper Michigan Messenger, Madonna‘s older brother Anthony Ciccone said he’s been homeless for more than a year and his super star sister isn’t helping him out.
“My family turned their back on me, basically, when I was having a hard time,” Ciccone said. He began living under a bridge in Traverse City, Mich. after losing his job at the family winery, Ciccone Vineyard.
“You think I haven’t answered this kind of question a bazillion times — why my sister is a multibazillionarie, and I’m homeless on the street?,” he said. ”Never say never. This could happen to anybody.”
Ciccone, 55, said life on the streets has worn him down: “I got frostbite on my feet last winter. A friend of mine lost all ten toes. Several have died of hypothermia.”
A rep for Madonna did not respond to ABCNews.com’s multiple requests for comment.


In a recent interview to a local Michigan publication, The Michigan Messenger, one of famous pop star Madonna’s brothers has opened up about the poor and miserable life he is living at the moment. Anthony Ciccone is 55 years old, and has lost all his belongings a year and a half ago. He lost his job and his home. “Never say never. This could happen to anybody”, the man says about his actual condition. “You think I haven't answered this kind of question a bazillion times -- why my sister is a multibazillionaire, and I'm homeless on the street?” he asked. Many people ask him that, but he has no real answer to this question. He only said that none of the family members helped him. “My family turned their back on me, basically, when I was having a hard time”.
Anthony Ciccone was the second of six brothers, children of the Ciccone family, who were of Italian descendent. His father, Silvio Anthony Ciccone was born in the United States and has worked for General Motors and Chrysler as a design engineer. The mother, Madonna Louise, was Canadian. Madonna was the third child of the family. She and her brother Anthony, together with the other kids, spent their childhood in Rochester Hills.
But while Madonna has struggled to become the music icon that she is now, her brother didn’t seem as determined as her to become somebody. Or maybe, he was just unlucky. He managed to lose the job he had at his family’s winery, Tony’s vineyard, located in Sutton Bays, in the summer of 2009. Since then, he’s been living the rough life on the streets. He gets his food from charity and sleeps under the open sky. Now, with another winter approaching, he is afraid he will die of hypothermia. Last year’s cold left him with frostbite in his legs.