How in the world could Elton John be strapped for cash?
Elton has had MAJOR money problems in the past. He spends it as fast (or faster) than he spends it. Here... Google is your friend...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/380344.stm
Yeah, but that's from 1999. I knew he had some financial problems back then, but this last decade he has been perennially on the list of the highest earning entertainers, some years even in the top 10.
That was before the Red Piano, before that two year tour with Billy Joel and before the Lion King musical, which is still running to sold-out audiences on Broadway and tours across the globe.