Their relationship was so powerful, Freddie even left most of his wealth to her, as long as some other beneficiaries. Despite this, he is still earning after his death, especially given the number of Queen tours, exhibitions and movies which have been made in the past 29 years.
Currently, Queen's catalogue is owned by Disney Music Group which purchased the rights for a reported $10 million in 1991. Speaking with CNN, a source close to the acquisition revealed that the discussions were “well underway” and the deal would be finalised “within one month.”
Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin were so close, that at one stage Freddie asked her to marry him, and he also left her half of his £75 million estate, including the £25 million Georgian mansion in Kensington. They did in fact date, and although they split up as romantic partners, they remained very close friends.
However, Mercury did leave him with £500,000 (nearly $1 million, per the 1991 conversion rate), which he used to move back to Ireland. He also wrote a book about their relationship, simply titled Mercury and Me. Hutton died on January 1, 2010, after a long battle with cancer.
Freddie Mercury – US$50 million.
They own the catalog outside North America through the UK-based Queen Productions Ltd, which raked in a staggering £39 million ($48 million) in royalties in 2021.
Mercury died in 1991, leaving disposal details that included 50 percent of his share of band income to Austin, with a fourth going to his parents and a fourth to his sister. However, since the death of his mother and father, their shares reverted to Austin, while Bulsara continues to receive 25 percent.
The guests included the star's bandmates and their wives, as well as Elton John, Mary Austin and Freddie's partner Jim Hutton.
Freddie Mercury may have been one of the more extroverted singers of his generation but his closest friend in Queen was the quietest member. Peter Freestone was a PA to the band and witnessed the friendship from close up and has revealed what bonded Freddie with bassist John Deacon.
These days, Mary, 70, lives a quiet life in the London mansion Freddie left to her where Queen fans still make regular visits to pay their respects. She has been married twice but is now divorced. She shares two grown-up sons, Jamie and Richard, with one of her exes, Piers Cameron.
Three years after Freddie's death, Jim published a book about his time with the singer titled Mercury and Me. He worked as Freddie's gardener after moving into the singer's Kensington mansion, and preferred to stay away from the rock and roll lifestyle.
His father Bomi attended Freddie's funeral after his sad death from bronchial pneumonia, and the small family moved up to Nottingham away from London to be out of the spotlight.
John Deacon still makes money from all the Queen Recordings, as well as he runs the business end of Queen now, so he gets paid from that on top of tons of royalties. He also owns the Queen name just as much as Brian and Rodger. He just doesn't speak to the guys or perform.
Queen are raking in an incredible £100,000-plus a day from the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic. The surviving members of the band - Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon and the estate of late frontman Freddie Mercury - have been earning £20.17 million between them since the film's release in 2018.
The music catalog of the legendary rock band Queen, which is currently owned by Disney, could soon sell for more than $1 billion, according to CNN.
Queen Still Hasn't Made Any Money Off 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
“We thought it would do well in the end, we felt good about it, but we didn't realize it would do that well,” May said in a recent interview on BBC Radio 2's The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show.
"If I bump into Eric Clapton, he is my god in a sense, and I don't find it easy to talk to him because of that." May revealed he and front man Mercury, who passed away in 1991, were extremely close. "We were like brothers. We still are," he said.
While there had been rumours about Freddie's sexuality, the constant presence of Mary meant his sexuality was not seriously questioned for some time and as Queen started to become famous, the frontman kept his secret. Freddie dedicated the song 'Love Of My Life' to Mary Austin, and proposed in 1973.
John Deacon
John at Freddie's funeral. It is well known that John stayed away from Freddie during his illness, according to the words of Peter Freestone, John was the only member of the band who never visited Freddie while he was in bed, so they were surprised that he attended his funeral.
Rami himself has revealed that he is lip-syncing, but it's not just Freddie's voice that we hear. "It is an amalgamation of a few voices," he told the Metro US. "But predominantly it is my hope and the hope of everyone that we will hear as much Freddie as possible. I think that is the goal for all of us."
While Freddie was dating Jim Hutton at his death, it was Mary who was a constant in his life. Speaking about their relationship, Mary said: "During those times I did really feel such love for him. They were the moments I remembered every time I looked at his bed.
On June 2, 1979, Hutton died of liver cancer, two days after his 45th birthday, and a month after being diagnosed.
He left one quarter of his future earnings from Queen to his parents and another quarter to his sister. Apart from some minor bequests, everything else went to Mary. But Mary admitted not everyone was happy with this decision: "Some of the fans even told me I was only the keeper of the house. That hurt.
Freddie Mercury was a British singer/songwriter and musician who had a net worth of $50 million dollars at the time of his death in 1991 (after adjusting for inflation).
At least 5 of the cats Freddie adopted were still alive when he passed away. Freddie passed away on the 24th November 1991, that's 30 years ago this November, leaving all his 5 cats to his former partner Mary Austin, as a part of his estate. Freddie had at least 10 cats throughout his life.