Hollywood legend Richard Burton, who friends believed died penniless after a life of spending his money on extravagant luxuries, actually left behind a fortune. He died in August 1984 in his home in Switzerland at the age of 58, after suffering an intracerebral haemorrhage.
Whilst his pals believed he wouldn’t be leaving behind much money after amassing a huge portfolio of artwork, investments and real estate, they were stunned by what they found.
According to the Sunday Mirror, he left behind $4.58m, the equivalent to £10million in 2025, and left the bulk of his fortune to his widow Sally. Under Swiss law the contents of wills need not be divulged, but the newspaper said it learned the details from a source close to both Mr. Burton and his widow.
They quoted Sally as saying: “Everyone seems to be under the impression I am penniless. But that is not so.”
A source also said: “Many (friends) believed he died almost penniless. He was amazingly generous. He happily handed over $1 million to his third wife, Suzy Hunt, as a divorce settlement. But he was also highly paid. So perhaps some people will regard $4.58 million as very modest.”
His estate reportedly was scattered across three countries, and included $2 million in a Bermuda bank, $1 million in property, nearly $100,000 in investments, some $380,000 in artworks and personal effects and $20,000 in residual payments from old films.
But while his friends thought he would be penniless, Burton’s brother Verdun revealed he was actually shocked it wasn’t more, branding the figure “ridiculous”.
Meanwhile, a priceless Picasso sketch was missing from Burton’s estate, but was eventually traced back to the home of his former wife Elizabeth Taylor, who he famously married twice.
His widow Sally was reportedly “perfectly” happy to let it stay there. Meanwhile, a valuable manuscript by Dylan Thomas also went missing from the estate.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
