Priscilla Is Challenging Lisa Marie’s Trust After She Was Replaced by Riley Keough—What Elvis’ Daughter Was Worth

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As the daughter of the “King of Rock and Roll,” there’s always been interest in Lisa Marie Presley’s net worth and how much she inherited from her father, Elvis Presley, after his death.

Lisa Marie Presley is the daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley. She was born on February 1, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Her parents divorced when she was four years old. She was nine years old when Elvis died on August 16, 1977, of a cardiac arrest. Like her father, Lisa Marie was also a singer. She released three albums: 2003’s To Whom It May Concern; 2005’s Now What; and 2012’s Storm and Grace. Her first album reached Gold certification with the Recording Industry Association of America, and reached number five on the Billboard 200 chart.

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Lisa Marie was married four times throughout her life. She married her first husband, musician Danny Keough, in 1988. The couple welcomed two children: a daughter named Riley in 1989 and a son named Benjamin in 1992. They divorced in 1994. Twenty days after her divorce, Lisa Marie married her second husband, singer Michael Jackson. They divorced in 1996. Lisa Marie married her third husband, actor Nicholas Age, in 2002. The couple separated three months later and their divorce was finalized in 2004. Lisa Marie married her fourth husband, musician Michael Lockwood, in 2006. They welcomed twin daughters, Harper and Finley, in 2008. Lisa Marie filed for divorce in 2016. The couple finalized their divorce in 2021.

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After a life in the spotlight, Lisa Marie died on January 12, 2023, in Calabasas, California. She was 54 years old. Read on for what we know about Lisa Marie Presley’s net worth and what she inherited from Elvis before her death.

How much did Lisa Marie Presley inherit from Elvis?

Image: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.
Image: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.

How much did Lisa Marie Presley inherit from Elvis? Lisa Marie’s father, Elvis Presley, died on August 16, 1977. He was 42 years old. Elvis’ will appointed his father, Vernon Presley, as the executor and a trustee of his estate. The beneficiaries of the trust were Vernon; Lisa Marie; and Elvis’ grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley. Because Lisa Marie was 9 years old at the time of her father’s death, her inheritance was held until her 25th birthday.

After Vernon’s death in 1979, Lisa Marie’s mother and Elvis’ ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, was named as one of three trustees in Elvis’ will. The other trustees were the National Bank of Commerce in Memphis and Joseph Hanks, who had been Elvis’ accountant. After Minnie Mae’s death in 1980, Lisa Marie became the only surviving beneficiary. Lisa Marie inherited Elvis’ whole estate on her 25th birthday on February 1, 1993. Due to his years of excessive spending and being bilked by his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ estate was worth $5 million at the time of his death, with just $1 million dedicated to Lisa Marie before the deaths of Vernon and Minnie Mae. However, by the time Lisa Marie inherited Elvis’ whole estate in 1993, the amount had grown to $100 million, thanks to the stewardship of Priscilla. “I tried to ignore it,” Lisa Marie told People at the time. “I think it’s time. I do [have new responsibilities], but it’s not like a major new thing, except maybe for people who didn’t know my role.” She continued of her new role at the time as the owner of the Elvis Presley Trust, “Everything remains the same, except I’m on the management team now.”

Jerry Schilling, Lisa Marie’s manager and Elvis’ longtime friend, also told People at the time of Lisa Marie’s readiness to inherit her father’s estate. “I think marriage and motherhood have made her a responsible person,” he said at the time. “I have seen her grow so much.” He continued, “If [the inheritance] had happened five years ago, it potentially could have affected her. But I think I Lisa has prepared herself.”

Lisa Marie also praised Priscilla’s stewardship over the estate in the interview with People. “She’s done an astounding job,” she said. “She’s incredible, and I have huge admiration and respect for what she’s accomplished.”

In 1998, Lisa Marie became more involved as the owner and chairman of the board of the Elvis Presley Trust and its business entity, Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. She told 85 percent of the estate’s business holdings to CKX Inc. (now known as Industrial Media, LLC) with the exception of Graceland and the properties within it.

After Lisa Marie’s death in 2023, Graceland and her trust were inherited by her daughters, Riley Keough and Harper and Finley Lockwood, a representative for Graceland confirmed to People. Lisa Marie shared Riley with her ex-husband, Danny Keough, whom she divorced in 1994. She shared twins Harper and Finley with her ex-husband Michael Lockwood, whom she separated from in 2016 and divorced in 2021. Lisa Marie’s son Benjamin Keough, whom she shared with Danny, died by suicide in 2020. He was 27 years old.

Lisa Marie had two children from her marriage to Danny Keough: Riley, 33, and Benjamin, who died by suicide at age 27 in July 2020. She married Michael Lockwood in 2006 with whom she had her now 14-year-old twin daughters, Harper and Finley, whom she divorced in 1994. Presley and Lockwood split in 2016 and their divorce was finalized in 2021.

In January 2023, two weeks after Lisa Marie’s death, Priscilla filed legal documents to dismiss an amendment in Lisa Marie’s trust, according to TMZ. As reported, Priscilla and Elvis’ manager, Barry Siegel, were named trustees of Lisa Marie’s trust after her father’s death in 1977. Between that time and Lisa Marie’s death, there was an amendment in the trust replacing Priscilla and Siegel as trustees and appointing Lisa Marie’s eldest children, Riley and Benjamin, instead. Priscilla claimed in 2023 legal filings that the amendment may be fraudulent as it was never delivered to her. She also contended that the date seemed suspicious, the document misspelled her name, and Lisa Marie’s signature “appears inconsistent with her usual and customary signature.” Priscilla filed for the amendment to be declared invalid.

What was Lisa Marie Presley’s net worth?

Image: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Icelandic Glacial.
Image: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Icelandic Glacial.

What was Lisa Marie Presley’s net worth? Lisa Marie Presley’s net worth was negative $10 million at the time of her death, according to Celebrity Net Worth. In 2018, Lisa Marie sued her former manager, Barry Siegel, for the alleged “reckless and negligent mismanagement” of her estate, which had left her with only $14,000, according to court documents obtained by The Blast. Siegel countered the suit and claimed that the low amount was a result of Lisa Marie’s excessive spending. He also damanded $800,000 in damages from Lisa Marie for non-payment.

In the court documents, Siegel claimed that Lisa Marie’s 2005 deal to sell 85 percent of her share of Elvis Presley Enterprises, which he negotiated, “cleared up over $20m in debts Lisa had incurred and netted her over $40m cash and a multi-million dollar income stream.” Lisa Marie, however, claimed that the deal lost her millions due to a subsequent investment in Core Entertainment, the production company behind American Idol that went bankrupt in 2016.

Siegel sold off 85 percent of her share in the Elvis Presley Enterprises company in 2005, a deal that he says “cleared up over $20m in debts Lisa had incurred and netted her over $40m cash and a multi-million dollar income stream”. Presley says it lost her millions thanks to a subsequent investment in Core Entertainment, the company behind American Idol that went bankrupt in 2016. According to tax filings obtained by The Guardian, the Presley Charitable Foundation had operated at an annual loss each tax year since 2009. The Guardian also reported that annual revenue was down to just $26 in one year.

The lawsuit between Lisa Marie and Siegel came at the time of her divorce from her fourth husband, Michael Lockwood, in 2018. According to court documents obtained by People, Lisa Marie claimed that she was $16.7 million in debt as a result of what she owed in income taxes, a defaulted mortgage and credit card bills. Lisa Marie’s business manager at the time, Justin Stiegemeyer—who was responsible for her “day-to-day finances and paying all of her bills”—claimed her had had first learned of her debt while her former business manager, Provident Financial Management, was handling her finances. As a result, Stiegemeyer claimed that Lisa Marie “had not been provided with proper accountings or notices or been kept abreast of her finances” by her former business manager and that she had “total liquid assets of less than $20,000” at the time they were fired. Stiegemeyer also reported that, “by the end of 2015,” there were “no additional funds” other than “the approximately $20,00 of liquid assets” available to Lisa Marie to use to pay her debts. He added that a majority of her debts were related to unpaid income taxes” from 2012 to 2015, which “total over $10 million.” Stiegemeyer also claimed that Lisa Marie owed almost $50,000 in credit card debt and that she had already paid off one of three “outstanding American Express cards each totaling approximately $300,000” in October 2017 an made the final payment on a “Citicard credit card with a balance due of $111,083” in January 2018. He stated at the time that the remaining outstanding American Express bills were expected to be “paid in full in September 2018.” “Suffice it to say that in addition to having to pay off these debts, the payment issues with these cards has caused [Lisa Marie’s] credit to be significantly impaired,” Stiegemeyer said. Stiegemeyer also stated that Lisa Marie hoped at the time to start payments toward her income tax debt “once we have paid off the credit cards and various legal fee debts and obligations.” The court documents also revealed that Lisa Marie had defaulted on a mortgage of a $6 million house she owned in the United Kingdom, which she had been trying to sell for two years at the time.

According to the court documents, Lisa Marie received a monthly salary of $4,361 from Elvis’ estate at the time, as well as $100,000 in dividends and interest from investments. Lisa Marie detailed her debt in response to a February 2017 court order requiring her to cover $50,000 of Lockwood’s $450,000 divorce attorney fees.

How did Lisa Marie Presley die?

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Getty Images

How did Lisa Marie Presley die? Lisa Marie died in the evening of January 12, 2023. She was 54 years old. Her mother, Priscilla Presley, confirmed her death. “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla said in a statement at the time. “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.”

A statement from the Presley family at the time also read, “Priscilla Presley and the Presley family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Lisa Marie. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”

Hours before Lisa Marie’s death, Elvis’ daughter was rushed to the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest. According to TMZ, EMTs responded to a cardiac arrest call at Lisa Marie’s home on the 5900 block of Normandy Drive in Calabasas, California, after she was found unresponsive in her bedroom by her housekeeper. TMZ reported that Lisa Marie’s ex-husband, Danny Keough, performed CPR un her until the paramedics arrived and took over. After noticing Lisa Marie had “signs of life,” the paramedics transferred her to a local hospital for “immediate medical care,” where she later died, according to People.

"Elvis by the Presleys"
"Elvis by the Presleys"

Elvis by the Presleys

Buy: ‘Elvis by the Presleys’ $19

For more about Elvis and his family, including his marriage to Priscilla and raising his only daughter, Lisa Marie, you have to read Elvis by the Presleys; an intimate account of life at the Graceland ranch by the people who knew it best. This revealing memoir features hours of exclusive family interviews, quotes from The King himself as well as private photos and family memorabilia from the Graceland and Elvis Presley archives.

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