Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley who died on January 12 at 54, leaves behind a rock-and-roll legacy — including a tough financial journey marked by losses and money chases.
Presley, a singer-songwriter like her father, wasn’t wealthy enough to make Forbes’ list of highest-paid entertainers, while some celebrity websites even speculated that she might have a negative net worth. when he died.
But Presley still owned Graceland, Elvis Presley’s estate that is now a tourist attraction, through a trust, which will now be inherited by his children, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a Graceland spokesperson.
Detailed insight into her financial situation emerged in 2018 when she sued her former manager, Barry Siegel, claiming he mismanaged her finances, causing her confidence to plummet from $100 million to $14,000 in cash in 2016. The lawsuit also claimed that Presley accumulated $500,000. of credit card debt, according to Reuters.
Beginning in 2005, Presley suffered an “11-year odyssey to financial ruin,” according to the lawsuit. “Lisa suffered damages in an amount that has not yet been fully determined, but is believed to exceed $100 million.”
The lawsuit followed her 2021 divorce from musician Michael Lockwood. During the divorce proceedings, Presley claimed she was in debt for $16 million, most of it from unpaid taxes, according to TMZ.
Presley blamed the root cause of his financial troubles on a 2005 deal to sell an 85% stake in the Elvis Presley Estate (EPE) to CKX, an entertainment company that also owned the TV show “American Idol.”
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Admittedly, Presley didn’t come out empty-handed from the deal: She received $50 million plus shares of CKX, while retaining a 15% stake in EPE, as well as the title to Graceland, the report reported. ‘Associated Press at the time. . CKX was later sold to Apollo Global Management for $509 million.
But Presley’s lawsuit claimed Siegel put his own financial interests ahead of his own, alleging he bought a $9 million English house using trust money, while putting that stake at risk when he was unable to pay a lump sum payment of $6.7 million. Commercial call from Memphis reported.
Meanwhile, Siegel countered in his own lawsuit that Presley’s financial troubles were due to his own missteps. The litigation claimed she had “twice squandered” her inheritance and blamed her for “spendthrift manners”, Reuters said.
But Presley, who was nine when his father died, remained the sole owner of Graceland, the Memphis Commercial Appeal said. And his 15% stake in EPE likely continues to generate steady income, given that Elvis Presley is ranked the 4th highest earning celebrity deceased in 2022, according to Forbes.
Presley said last year she was making nearly $104,000 a month from “Elvis Enterprises,” according to Yahoo, citing legal documents uncovered by The Blast.
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