When INXS frontman Michael Hutchence died in a Sydney hotel room in 1997, his global property portfolio was believed to be worth tens of millions of dollars. Yet when executors finalized the estate eight years later, they declared just $506 in cash and a $572 share of the band’s bank balance.
Michael Hutchence Left Behind Trusts While Tiger Lily Received Zero
Hutchence instructed in his 1996 will that the first half of his estate go to his only daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, with the remainder split between his partner Paula Yates, his parents, and his siblings. However, the properties had been placed inside complex offshore corporate trusts and tax havens. Tiger Lily received no real estate, no royalties, and zero inheritance.
Documentary maker Richard Lowenstein spoke to Tiger Lily in 2019, where she laughed when told the estate might still reach her. Tiger Lily told him she had given up on that and that it was literally gone. Lowenstein told the Herald Sun that when he met Tiger Lily for dinner in London, her flat looked like a little squat. Previously, during an encounter with her late father’s accountant, Tiger Lily was reportedly handed a £500 ($A1000) envelope and advised that the sum would suffice for the time being.
Peter Brock Estate Battle Divided Over A Blank DIY Will Form
When Peter Brock died in 2006, he left behind a sprawling 28ha sanctuary at Eltham in Melbourne alongside prime automotive and licensing assets. A bitter Supreme Court battle erupted after Brock left three conflicting wills, including a formal 1984 document, an unsigned 2006 draft, and a 2003 DIY kit. Having endorsed the 2003 kit document, Brock omitted any entries in the distribution section, explaining to his ex-partner Bev Brock that he placed his confidence in her to supply the specifics.
The 2003 DIY document successfully superseded the 1984 will despite lacking proper witness signatures, according to a 2007 judicial ruling. Because the signed document contained no division instructions, Brock technically died intestate without a functional will. Under Victorian intestacy law, the $3.3m estate bypassed Bev Brock, stepson James, and fiancee Julie Bamford, landing solely with his two biological children, Robert and Alexandra. An agreement was reached among the biological siblings to divide the estate equally with their stepbrother James, whereas Ms Bamford resolved her family provision claim out of court.
Aaron Spelling Cut Tori Spelling Out of a $US600m Empire
TV producer Aaron Spelling built one of the largest private residential holdings in American history, crowned by The Manor, a 123-room, 5200sq m mega-mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. When Spelling died in 2006, his daughter, Tori Spelling, expected a substantial inheritance. Spelling instead bequeathed essentially his whole domain to his spouse, Candy Spelling, allotting only $US800,000 ($1.2m) apiece to Tori and her brother Randy.
Candy Spelling later revealed the modest sum was deliberate, claiming her daughter lacked financial discipline. Candy Spelling said in a 2014 interview with the New York Times that Tori would close a store and drop $50,000 to $60,000, adding that she herself never did anything like that and that Tori just went crazy. Candy Spelling sold The Manor in 2011 for $US85m ($127m) in cash to British heiress Petra Ecclestone. The estate traded again in 2019 for $US119.75m ($180m), with Tori receiving none of the windfall.
Philip Seymour Hoffman Disinherited His Children To Prevent Trust Fund Status
An enviable New York real estate portfolio, featuring a $US4.4m Manhattan West Village residence, was put together by Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. Court documents surfaced upon Hoffman’s passing in 2014 indicating he purposefully kept his three offspring—Cooper, Tallulah, and Willa—out of his will. His accountant had received explicit instructions from Hoffman that his offspring should be blocked from attaining trust-fund status. His complete monetary assets and real estate holdings were transferred to his longtime companion Mimi O’Donnell, relying on her to provide for the youngsters independently of assured generational affluence.
Steve Irwin Channeled Wealth Into Wildlife Warriors Instead Of Personal Cash
When Steve Irwin died in 2006, he had acquired vast tracts of regional Queensland land and transformed Australia Zoo into a global tourism drawcard. Diverging from standard celebrity practices where liquid assets and premium houses are passed down, Irwin directed his funds toward Wildlife Warriors. Managed by his surviving spouse Terri Irwin, the family trust maintained ownership of his commercial parcels and animal enclosures. Neither Bindi nor Robert Irwin obtained direct cash payouts or transferable property titles, with their inheritance consisting of the responsibility to manage and work within the family business.
Steve Jobs Left Billions to Laurene Powell Jobs and Opposed Legacy Wealth
Possessing a vast fortune underpinned by valuable Silicon Valley real estate, including his Palo Alto home and historic land holdings in Woodside, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs also maintained a strained dynamic with his firstborn daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, after initially contesting her paternity for years. Following Jobs’s death in 2011, his wealth, Disney stock, and extensive real estate holdings were passed on to his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs. Lisa received no direct stake in the property empire, later outlining in her memoir Small Fry how she felt excluded from the family wealth.
Expressing opposition to generational wealth accumulation, Powell Jobs shared her perspective with the New York Times in 2020. Powell Jobs stated that she inherited her wealth from her husband, who did not care about the accumulation of wealth, and added that she is not interested in legacy wealth building, noting that if she lives long enough, it ends with her.
Tony Curtis And Other Stars Disinherited Their Families Completely
Throughout a six-decade acting career, Hollywood star Tony Curtis accumulated premium properties throughout California and Nevada, among them a luxurious estate in Las Vegas. Upon the passing of the Some Like It Hot icon in 2010, probate proceedings revealed that his five children, including actor Jamie Lee Curtis, had been entirely excluded. Curtis had rewritten his will months before his death to explicitly disinherit his children, including a blunt clause acknowledging their existence while choosing not to provide for them. Jill Vandenberg, his fifth wife, received the entirety of the $US60m ($90m) estate and subsequently proceeded to auction off his personal collections and real estate holdings.
For upwards of seven decades, Kirk Douglas maintained his residence in Beverly Hills, accumulating a fortune of $US61m ($92m) alongside prime properties in California. Reaching the age of 103 prior to his 2020 passing, he concluded that his offspring, actor Michael Douglas among them, had no requirement for his financial assets. Douglas directed almost his entire fortune to the Douglas Foundation to fund charities and scholarships, leaving his surviving children zero cash or property.
David Cassidy spent decades in the spotlight, once owning a luxury waterfront mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Following a 2015 bankruptcy filing, Cassidy was compelled to liquidate the Florida estate through an auction that fetched $US2m. Surviving relatives upon his 2017 death included his son Beau, who inherited the remainder of the estate, and three half-siblings who received his music memorabilia, whereas his daughter Katie Cassidy was purposefully cut out of the will. Cassidy wrote in his 2004 will that it was his specific intent not to provide any benefits to Katherine Evelyn Cassidy during a period of estrangement.
Property Portfolio And Estate Comparisons
- Michael Hutchence: Estate valued between $10m and $20m; left behind $506 in cash after properties entered offshore trusts.
- Peter Brock: Estate valued at $15m+; $3.3m net estate distributed under intestacy law to biological children.
- Aaron Spelling: Estate valued at $US600m ($900m); children Tori and Randy received $US800,000 ($1.2m) each while Candy Spelling inherited the rest.
- Philip Seymour Hoffman: Estate valued at $US35m ($52m); children excluded from the will to prevent them from becoming trust-fund kids.
- Steve Jobs: Estate valued at $US10.2bn ($15.4bn); properties and fortune left entirely to Laurene Powell Jobs.
- Tony Curtis: Estate valued at $US60m ($90m); five children explicitly disinherited with assets left to his fifth wife, Jill Vandenberg.
- Kirk Douglas: Estate valued at $US61m ($92m); fortune directed to the Douglas Foundation with zero cash or property left to his children.
Common Questions About Celebrity Disinheritances
What happened to Michael Hutchence’s multi-million-dollar property portfolio?
When executors finalized Hutchence’s estate eight years after his 1997 death, they declared just $506 in cash and a $572 band account share because his properties had been placed inside complex offshore corporate trusts and tax havens.
Why did Peter Brock’s estate go to intestacy law?
Brock signed a 2003 DIY kit document that revoked his 1984 will, but he left the distribution section entirely blank, causing the $3.3m estate to bypass his partner and stepson under Victorian intestacy law and land solely with his biological children.
How much did Aaron Spelling leave to his daughter Tori Spelling?
Spelling left $US800,000 ($1.2m) to his daughter Tori Spelling and his son Randy Spelling, while leaving the remainder of his $US600m ($900m) empire to his wife, Candy Spelling.
Who inherited Philip Seymour Hoffman’s estate?
Hoffman left his entire fortune and his $US4.4m Manhattan West Village home to his long-time partner, Mimi O’Donnell, intentionally excluding his three children from his will to prevent them from becoming trust-fund kids.
Worth a look