Freddie signed a will in September 1991, that gave half of his vast wealth to Mary and the rest to his parents and sister. Most of his friends, including lover Jim Hutton, were given £500,000 each or a house. Mary was Freddie's bedside holding his hand when he passed away at the age of 45.
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.
This incredible inheritance was split between Mercury's nearest and dearest. His long-time friend and close confidante Mary Austin received the largest slice of the singer's millions as well as his home. Mercury set aside a fair amount of funds for his parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, and his only sister, Kashmira.
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.”
Well, it still seems to be lasting: Queen Productions Ltd generated £38.92 million ($53.5m) from royalties in its last fiscal year (the 12 months to end of September 2021, aka FY 2021), according to newly-published UK annual accounts analyzed by MBW. That figure was down by just 6.6% year-on-year.
Royal Inheritance
Representatives told Forbes in 2021 that Harry was not a beneficiary of any of the $100 million left to the royal family by his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother.
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.
Yes! He receives: authorship royalties. A part of the distribution rights royalties (because of his co-ownership of Queen Ltd.)
He was devastated by her decision, he said. 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.
Private estate of the Sovereign
In 2002, she inherited her mother's estate, thought to have been worth £70 million (the equivalent of about £121 million today). Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle are privately owned by the Sovereign.
Freddie Mercury – US$50 million.
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.
Although their engagement ended when he told her he was gay, the pair remained remarkably close for the rest of his life. And after his death in 1991 he left her 50 per cent of his future earnings. A further 25 per cent went to his parents and 25 per cent to his sister.
Yet, Queen's income by the time of the News Of the World album was great enough to, well make the album great enough. In later albums, Queen decided to stop crediting and paying each band member separate amounts just for composing a track, everything was by Queen, for Queen, and split evenly in four payments.
But despite all that, Queen member Brian May claims the band hasn't seen any of the profits. “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. “It's incredible around the world.
In 1991, Disney acquired the Exclusive distribution rights to Queen's entire music catalogue in all North American territories , as a way to add value to their recently created record company, Hollywood Records, which the agreement remains to this day.
On June 2, 1979, Hutton died of liver cancer, two days after his 45th birthday, and a month after being diagnosed.
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 died 31 years ago today. While seriously Ill, he shot the video for THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Knowing this would be his last time on film, he asked for another take of his last words: "I still love you.”
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, A Night at the Opera (1975).
Brian May elaborated in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying: "We don't, really [speak to John]. He doesn't want to. He wants to be private and in his own universe." "He's completely retired from any kind of social contact," Roger added.
What was Freddie Mercury's Net Worth? 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).
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."
One of the reasons for Queen splitting from Trident, their original management company, is that it refused to lend Deacon money to put a deposit on a house. According to the 2019 Sunday Times Rich List, Deacon was worth £130 million.
Freddie Mercury bought the house for £500,000 in cash from a member of the Hoare family early in 1980. After his death, mourning fans covered the wall with graffiti messages. The house was inherited by Mercury's close friend Mary Austin following his death at the house in 1991.