What was Colonel Tom Parker Worth When He Died? Because of his crazy commission from Elvis' career the question of the Colonel Tom Parker net worth is one many have asked. At the time of his death in 1997, Elvis' Manager, Colonel Parker was worth approximately $1 million, the same as $1.8 million in 2023.
Despite taking 50 per cent of all the profits from Elvis' career, Parker was no less gullible than the 'rubes' whom he delighted in exploiting in his carnival days. The Colonel himself ended up being the greatest sucker of them all, giving back almost his entire fortune to the Hilton croupiers.
Towards the end of his career, the Colonel was taking a 50% commission, which was considered completely exploitative. Elvis Presley's performance in Hawaii in 1973 was the first performance telecast via satellite to the world.
Despite earning over $100 million during his lifetime, at the time of his death Colonel Tom Parker was reportedly worth less than $1 million. He also reportedly had as much as $30 million worth of gambling debts at various times in his life.
And in 1973, he sold the masters for all of Presley's recordings to RCA for $5.4 million. Not only was that a fraction of their worth; after Parker's cut and taxes, Presley was left with $1.35 million, most of that going to Priscilla Presley in a divorce settlement.
Lisa Marie became the the sole owner of the mansion when the trust holding her inheritance dissolved on her 25th birthday in 1993. Graceland has become a popular tourist attraction over the years, with public tours on offer as well as sprawling museum exhibits.
Today, the Presley estate is estimated to be worth between $400 million and $500 million, according to one Presley exec. That's less than the Beatles (whose song catalog is said to be worth more than $1 billion) and Queen (thanks to Bohemian Rhapsody, the surviving members top Presley at $575 million).
The Colonel travelled to Memphis for the funeral, where he turned up dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and baseball cap, and smoked his trademark cigar. It was reported that at the funeral, he persuaded Presley's father to sign over control of Presley's career in death to him.
As portrayed in the movie, Parker, a compulsive gambler, raked up huge gambling debts and the casino executives called in these debts to pressure Parker to get Presley into an exclusive residency deal.
That led to a colossal shouting match afterwards with Parker and talk of firing and quitting on both their parts, with Colonel ultimately presenting a bill that the Presleys could not pay. And so things resumed as they had been. Elvis would never have been so crass as to have fired Colonel from the stage.
It was the beginning of a staggering run of chart-toppers that would last into the early '60s. Presley's fame came at a price, though, with Parker taking up to 50% of the singer's earnings, whereas most managers took 10 to 15%.
Being managed by Colonel Tom Parker came at a hefty price for the “Love Me Tender” singer. No matter where it came from, be it from touring, record sales, his time at Sun Records, or merchandise, Colonel Parker took up to 50 percent of Elvis' earnings throughout his career.
A representative of Graceland told People that the property will now be passed on to Lisa Marie's three daughters, Riley, Harper and Finley.
The money. It has been widely reported that the colonel took more than half of Presley's income in return for negotiating merchandising deals, TV appearances and acting roles.
He had no children, and he treated his wife as a companion, not as a lover.
In 1935, Parker married 27-year-old Marie Francis Mott. They struggled to survive during the Great Depression, working short cons and traveling across the country in search of work. Parker later said that at times they had to live on as little as $1 a week (US$21 in 2022 dollars).
Elvis Presley was furious with Parker's actions. According to TVTropes.com, he demanded that the album be taken off the market. Evidently, the debacle wasn't serious enough for Elvis to confront his manager. Whether he truly wanted to fire Parker or not, death was the only thing that could split the two apart.
“His name was Andreas Cornelius Van Kuijk. He was from Breda, Netherlands.” The Colonel left Europe under a cloud of suspicion involving an unsolved murder, slipped into the U.S. illegally and learned how to hustle while traveling with carnivals and circuses.
Although Parker himself would live for another 20 years after Presley, dying at 87 in 1997, a big part of him died with Elvis.
Colonel Tom Parker was likely moved to tears for two reasons. One, was that he loved seeing "his boy" do so well at his craft. But the other reason was purely financial.
After Elvis's death in 1977, his father Vernon was one of the executors of his estate, which was held in trust for his daughter Lisa Marie. Vernon named Priscilla to be his successor upon his death. She assumed the role following Vernon's 1979 death.
But in 2004, she agreed to sell off 85% of Elvis Presley Enterprises' assets, including Elvis' likeness rights, for around $100 million to music entrepreneur Robert F.X. Sillerman and his company CKX Inc. Lisa Marie Presley retained 15% ownership in Elvis Presley Enterprises.
At just nine years old, Priscilla Presley became one of three heirs to her father's estate when Elvis Presley passed away in 1977. Three years later, after the passing of her grandfather, Vernon, and great-grandmother, Minnie, she became the sole heir.
At the same time, she got to keep a 15% interest in Elvis Presley's Estate along with the title to Graceland.