The tragic truth behind Marilyn Monroe’s fortune

After Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe tragically died in 1962, the actress left behind an eye-watering net worth of around $US10 million.

Throughout her entire career, Monroe – who died age 36 – had amassed around $192 million from her 23 films and modelling pursuits.

And after her death, the star continued to make money from beyond the grave as her legacy turned into a pop-culture force.

Upon her sudden death, Monroe had $800,000 – which is around $10 million in today’s money.

After her estate was settled, it was reportedly worth just $370,000 (around $3.5 million).

When she died, Monroe left the bulk of her estate to her acting coach Lee Strasberg.

Strasberg and his wife Paula, who were given 75 per cent of the estate, also inherited Monroe’s personal effects and clothing.

“They took Marilyn under their wings,” Anthony Summers wrote in his book, Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe. “They gave her uncomplicated privacy and companionship.”

Monroe also left a significant sum to her mother, half-sister and close friends.

Around $12,000 was left to her sister Bernice Miracle and she gave $6,200 to Bernice’s daughter for her education.

Monroe generously put aside another $120,000 to care for her mother Gladys and $6,200 to each of her friends.

Alongside her donations to family and friends, Monroe also left 25 per cent of her intellectual property rights to her therapist, Dr Marianne Kris.

Monroe had divorced her playwright husband Arthur Miller just 10 days after signing her will, meaning her estate was shared among her loved ones.

When Strasberg died in 1982, the estate was left to his second wife, Anna Mizrahi – whom Monroe had never met.

She hired a company to license Monroe-related products and since then, the franchise has amassed millions of dollars in profits.

Mizrahi inked deals with brands and endorsements and made Monroe one of the highest-paid deceased celebrities in the world.

In 2019, Monroe was also listed as the eighth top-earning dead celebrities. She was ahead of Prince and Whitney Houston on the list.

In 2011, Mizrahi, now aged 83, sold her 75 per cent stake to Authentic Brands Group in a deal that has been estimated to be between $20 and $30 million.

Even now, Monroe’s estate also earns residuals from films including Some Like It Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Monroe’s iconic films were so popular even decades after her death, Some Like It Hot earned a staggering $4.5 million for her heirs in 1999.

While the legendary icon has lived on through pop culture thanks to Mizrahi’s keen business eye, some find it baffling Monroe’s legacy was left in the hands of a woman she never knew.

John Strasberg, Monroe’s estranged stepson, said in 2006 he found it “sad” that strangers were making money from his stepmother’s image.

“I’m not sure I would want any of it,” he told the Post-Gazette. “I find it fundamentally sad that people who never knew Marilyn continue to want to profit from her, and in the lowest form possible.”