Recently, Adam Yauch of the famed hip-hop group The Beastie Boys announced that no commercials or advertisements would be allowed to use the band’s music to promote their products. He also left his estimated $6.4 million estate to his wife and daughter in the event of his death.
In fairness, Yauch’s desire for his music not to be used for commercial purposes is hardly a surprising move for an artist that values his work. His Will is also relatively ordinary compared to the downright strange celebrity Wills we have uncovered.
Generally speaking, you never know how someone feels about you until they leave you out of their Will. Below, we have a list of 8 celebrities who left extremely odd Wills which covered all manner of weird and wonderful requests while occasionally leaving loved ones out in the cold.
1 – Marilyn Monroe
The legendary movie star and icon of a generation gave her clothes and possessions to Lee Stasberg, her acting coach and asked him to divide them among her family and friends. However, he allowed dollar signs to cover his eyes and cloud his judgement; instead of following Monroe’s wishes, he stored them away in a warehouse and when he died, his wife sold all of the possessions for more than $13 million.
2 – Alexander McQueen
The fashion designer shocked the world by committing suicide in 2010 and we were even more shocked to discover he had left $75,000 to his dogs.
3 – Gene Roddenberry
The creator of the Star Trek series asked for his body and ashes to be scattered in space. Given the fact he is most famous for creating sci-fi series set in space, perhaps this isn’t such an odd request!
4 – Farrah Fawcett
The actress left most of her fortune to her son which is hardly an unusual move. However, she also left $100,000 to an ex-lover and nothing to her famous lover Ryan O’Neal.
5 – Harry Houdini
The escapologist and magician told his wife Bess to hold an annual seance so he could speak to her and also left a 10-digit code just to make sure it is was his spirit Bess was speaking to.
6 – Leona Helmsley
Helmsley made her fortune from real estate and hotels but shocked and dismayed those closest to her by leaving $12 million to her Maltese dog while cutting most of her family out of the Will. Unsurprisingly, her relatives challenged the Will and a judge reduced the amount received by the pooch to $2 million. Helmsley has four grandchildren but only left money to two of them. In total, she left $10 million for these lucky grandkids, $5 million in trusts and another $5 million in cash but only on the proviso that they visit their father’s grave each year.
7 – Napoleon Bonaparte
The one-time ruler and ‘Emperor’ of France asked for his hair to be shaven and given to his family and friends!
8 – Fred Baur
The owner and founder of Pringles asked to be cremated and for his ashes to be placed in a Pringles can which would then be buried!