Marilyn Monroe Net Worth: During her limited but brilliant career, the legendary American actress and model Marilyn Monroe left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. Throughout her existence, Monroe, who was born Norma Jeane Mortenson, experienced both fame and sorrow. At the height of her popularity, she was a cultural icon and a Hollywood phenomenon.
However, her net worth was convoluted due to numerous financial and legal issues. There are conflicting estimates of Marilyn Monroe’s net worth, but her contributions to film and popular culture have left her with a legacy that transcends material fortune.
Marilyn Monroe Net Worth
At the time of her death in 1962, the American actress, model, and singer Marilyn Monroe had a net worth of $800,000. After accounting for inflation, this is equivalent to approximately $7 million in current dollars.
Marilyn Monroe earned slightly less than $3 million in film salaries over the duration of her career, which, when adjusted for inflation, is equivalent to almost $24 million before taxes.
She spent lavishly on acquaintances, family members, and employees, in addition to lavishly purchasing costly jewelry, clothing, and other items for herself.
Marilyn and photographer Milton Greene established Marilyn Monroe Productions in the middle of the 1950s, and she served as executive producer on “The Prince and the Showgirl.”
Monroe appeared on the Smithsonian Institution’s selection of the “100 Most Significant Americans of All Time” and was ranked sixth among the 50 greatest female American film legends by the American Film Institute.
Marilyn’s life was tragically cut short in August 1962, when she died of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 36. Many people believe she was murdered despite the fact that her untimely death was determined to be a potential suicide. You can also examine Marilyn Monroe’s net worth on this page.
Marilyn Monroe Property Worth and Ownership
According to Marilyn’s will, which was lodged in Los Angeles County when she died, her total net worth was approximately $370,000 after settlement costs and estate fees.
In Norma Jeane Mortenson’s will, she left $10,000 to both her longstanding personal assistant and her half-sister. In addition, $5,000 will be set aside in a trust fund for the education of her assistant’s offspring. A $100,000 trust fund was established in her mother’s will.
Lee Strasberg, the esteemed acting instructor of Marilyn Monroe, inherited her possessions. Lee and his initial wife, Paula, reared Marilyn. They remained close throughout her existence. Lee Strasberg also obtained 75% of her residual estate, or intellectual property rights, which is crucial.
Monroe’s therapist, Dr. Marianne Kris, received the remaining 25%. Dr. Kris bequeathed her 25 percent share of the enterprise, which had become a cottage industry by the time of her death in 1980, to the London-based Anna Freud Centre for the Psychoanalytic Study and Treatment of Children.
In 1966, four years after Monroe, Paula Strasberg passed away. After a year, Lee married the 28-year-old actress of Venezuelan descent Anna Mizrahi. When Monroe died, Anna was only 23 years old. Anna inherited 75 percent of Marilyn Monroe’s estate following Lee’s death in 1982.
Anna transformed Monroe Licensing into a flourishing empire by obtaining agreements for tens of thousands of products and endorsements with corporations such as Mercedes-Benz, Revlon, Absolut Vodka, and Coca-Cola.
Marilyn Monroe, a woman Anna Strasberg almost certainly never encountered, would become one of the world’s highest-paid deceased celebrities, netting her tens of millions of dollars. Anna Strasberg, an animal rights activist, prohibited images of Marilyn Monroe donning fur from being licensed or widely advertised.
Anna ultimately joined forces with the celebrity management firm CMG to promote Monroe. CMG reportedly paid Anna at least $1 million annually in licensing fees. According to court documents filed as part of a lawsuit, Anna earned “more than $7.5 million in licensing revenue” from 1996 to 2000 alone.
Authentic Brands Group acquired the remaining 75% stake in January 2011 for an estimated $20–$30 million. Anna ultimately purchased a residence in Marilyn’s Brentwood neighborhood, which was only seven minutes door-to-door away. Today, Anna’s home is worth between $7 and $10 million.
Real Estate
Marilyn’s home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, which she purchased just eight months before her death, was undoubtedly her most prized possession. Marilyn’s sole residence was located at 12305 5th Helena Dr, Los Angeles, California 90049.
She paid $77,500 for the property in January 1962 and had to borrow for the down payment from her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio. To finance the purchase, she obtained a 15-year mortgage with a monthly payment of $320.
The home was appraised posthumously at $90,000. Over the succeeding decades, the house was owned by six distinct individuals. It was sold for $995,000 in 1994. It was sold for $7.25 million in 2021. In 2023, a neighbor purchased the home and immediately began demolishing and rebuilding it in a different style.
How Did Marilyn Monroe Pass Away?
During the postmortem, a lethal amount of barbiturates, also known as sleeping pills, were discovered in her system. The night Marilyn Monroe passed away, her domestic Eunice Murray spent the night at her Brentwood, Los Angeles, residence.
At three in the morning, the housekeeper allegedly awoke feeling apprehensive. When she discovered that Monroe’s bedroom light was on, she attempted to enter but was unable to do so because the door was either closed or blocked.
Murray contacted the star’s Los Angeles psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, who entered Monroe’s chamber through a window and found the actress unconscious in her bed.
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Marilyn Monroe Profession
Marilyn quit her job to focus on modeling after meeting photographer David Conover while employed at the Radioplane Company. In 1945, she began modeling for Conover and a few of his acquaintances before the Blue Book Model Agency accepted her.
In 1946, Monroe had graced the covers of more than 30 magazines. Darryl F. Zanuck, the chief executive of 20th Century-Fox, offered her a six-month contract that would begin in August 1946 and pay her $150 per week.
She attended classes in acting, dancing, and singing before adopting the stage name Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn made her film début in 1947’s “Dangerous Years,” followed by “Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!” in 1948, following an extension of her contract.
At the studio’s request, she enrolled in training at the Actors’ Laboratory Theatre at this time, but Fox declined to renew her contract in August 1947 because her instructors believed she was too timid to succeed as an actress. Monroe joined Columbia Pictures in March 1948 and starred in the 1948 film “Ladies of the Chorus”; however, her contract was not renewed.
Marilyn Monroe Success
Monroe met vice president of the William Morris Agency Johnny Hyde, who assisted her in securing roles in “All About Eve” and “The Asphalt Jungle” and a seven-year contract with 20th Century-Fox.
She appeared in 1951’s “Let’s Make It Legal,” “As Young as You Feel,” “Hometown Story,” and “Love Nest” The Hollywood Foreign Press Association named her the “best young box office personality” in 1952, and the 1953 suspense film “Niagara” established her as a Hollywood sex icon.
Marilyn performed “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “How to Marry a Millionaire,” appeared on “The Jack Benny Program,” and graced the first cover and centerfold of “Playboy” magazine in 1953.
Monroe’s “Playboy” appearance was not sanctioned; a 1949 nudist photo was featured in the centerfold, and a 1952 Miss America Pageant parade photo was featured on the cover. In 1954, she starred in “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” and in 1955, she starred in “The Seven Year Itch,” which featured the “subway grate scene” that infuriated her then-husband Joe DiMaggio.
In 1955, Marilyn moved to New York City and began private acting instruction with Lee and Paula Strasberg. She starred in “Bus Stop” in 1956 and “The Prince and the Showgirl” in 1957 before taking an 18-month break to concentrate on her marriage to Arthur Miller.
In 1989, the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress recognized “Some Like It Hot,” a 1959 film starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
In 1962, she appeared on the CBS program “President Kennedy’s Birthday Salute,” following her appearances in the 1960 film “Let’s Make Love” and the 1961 film “The Misfits,” her final film. Marilyn began filming “Something’s Got to Give” in 1962 despite having sinusitis for the first six weeks.
The studio pressured her to continue filming by claiming she was feigning her illness. Monroe was dismissed from the film and sued for $750,000, Dean Martin declined to work with anyone else, and the production was halted as a result.
Fox invited Monroe to return and re-signed her with “Something’s Got to Give” and “What a Way to Go!” Then, she posed for “Vogue,” doing a fashion spread, and “The Last Sitting” naked photographs were published after her death.