Lisa Marie Presley dead at 54… Elvis’s only child blew the $100 million inheritance he left her and was $18 million in debt at one point. At the time of her death, she earned $100K mo., spent $92K, and owed the IRS $1M.
Lisa Marie Presley dead at 54
On Thursday, January 12, 2023, Lisa Marie Presley was rushed to the hospital after paramedics responded to the 5900 block of Normandy drive in Calabasas to treat a woman in her 50s who was not breathing, People reported. Paramedics began CPR, noted that Presley had “signs of life,” and rushed her to a local hospital for “immediate medical care,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Lisa Marie died from cardiac arrest, and her mother, Priscilla Presley, later confirmed her daughter’s death.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla wrote. “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known. We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers. At this time there will be no further comment.”
Lisa Marie Presley was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on Feb. 1, 1968, exactly nine months after Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding. Following her parent’s divorce in 1973, she moved to Los Angeles with her mother at age 4.
Lisa Marie Presley squandered $100 million inheritance
When Elvis Presley died, he left his only child, the then 9-year-old Lisa Marie Presley, along with her grandfather Vernon Presley and great-grandmother Minnie Mae Hood Presley, joint heirs to his estate. “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” died in 1977 at the age of 42. After the deaths of her grandparents, Lisa Marie became the sole heir that would inherit Elvis’s estate at the age of 25.
Elvis’s estate included his Graceland residence and an estimated fortune of $100 million, the New York Post reported.
However, through a series of ruinous business decisions, Lisa Marie not only squandered most of the money, but at one point, she owed an estimated $18 million in taxes.
Lisa Marie later hired a high-powered business manager named Barry Siegel, who had an array of celebrity clients. On Siegel’s advice, she sold off an 85% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises. Lisa Marie later sued Siegel, accusing him of “reckless and negligent mismanagement and self-serving ambition.”
However, Siegel told The Blast in 2019 that the deal to sell off her 85% stake was necessary and “cleared up over 20 million in debts Lisa Marie had incurred.”
Siegel said the deal “netted her over $40 million cash and a multimillion-dollar income stream, most of which she managed to squander.”
In November 2022, amid a custody battle with ex-husband Michael Lockwood, legal documents showed that Lisa Marie declared to have $95,266 in cash and $714,775 worth of stocks, bonds, and other assets. The document also showed she had a $1 million debt to the IRS that put her finances clearly in the red.
Lisa Marie also declared monthly earnings of $104,000 from Elvis Presley Enterprises, in which she had a 15% stake.
However, Lisa Marie stated she had a whopping $92,000 in monthly expenses, which included $23,500 for rent and a payment of $1708 on a luxe Maserati sports car.
Elvis was also “in dire financial straits” at the time of his death
Lisa Marie’s financial picture at the time of her death was not unlike her father’s. Elvis’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, stated in 1977 that the singer’s estate was in “dire financial straits” at the time of his death. The manager sold off most of The King’s recordings for a pittance, the New York Post reported.
Priscilla stepped in, sued Parker, and enlisted a team of financial professionals who turned Graceland into a tourist attraction and executed likeness and merchandising deals while establishing the development of Elvis-related music, film, video, television, and stage productions. By 1993, they had turned the situation around, and Elvis’s estate was estimated to be worth $100 million.
