Elizabeth Taylor Left 1 Ex-Husband Nearly $1 Million When She Died — But It Was Just a Small Fraction Of Her Massive Fortune
Elizabeth Taylor died an icon. The British-American actress certainly made a name for herself in the 20th century, though she did run into some issues regarding her reputation. Taylor married eight times during her life, including marrying the same man twice. At the time, it was somewhat taboo for a woman to wed so many times.
Still, when Taylor died, she left one of her ex-husbands a heavy sum of money — though it didn’t compare to her actual net worth at the time of her death.
Elizabeth Taylor wed eight times throughout her life
Taylor was born in the United Kingdom but spent most of her life in the United States. The actress began her career as a child, and by the time she was 18, she had already been through one failed engagement to William Pawley Jr. At 18, she married Conrad “Nicky” Hilton, who was six years older than her. The two divorced because of Hilton’s alleged drinking and abuse.
Taylor married six other men after Hilton, including actor Richard Burton, whom she divorced in 1974 then remarried a year later, for a total of eight weddings. After things didn’t work out with Burton the second time, Taylor married politician John Warner and later tied the knot with construction worker Larry Fortensky. Fortensky was Taylor’s last marriage, and the two wed in 1988 but divorced in 1996.
Taylor left ex-husband Larry Fortensky $825,000 in her will
The world was shocked and saddened when Taylor died in 2011. The actress reportedly used drugs such as pain killers and tranquilizers throughout her career, and she even went through a few near-death experiences, including breaking her back and surviving a difficult bout with pneumonia.
Taylor didn’t make too many public appearances in the last decade of her life. The actress was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2004 and died in California in 2011. She left her latest ex-husband, Fortensky, a whopping $825,000 in her will when she passed, despite that the two had been divorced 15 years earlier. Fortensky said he was “so shocked” to hear about her death, according to RadarOnline.
Fortensky had reportedly struggled financially after he and Taylor divorced, but she always had plenty of respect for him because he never spoke of their relationship to the media. It’s unclear why she left him the money, but those seem like viable reasons. Fortensky died about six years after Taylor in 2016.
Taylor was worth a whopping $600 million when she died
Taylor’s money to Fortensky was just a drop in the bucket compared to her massive fortune. The actress and humanitarian had managed to amass a $600 million net worth at the time of her death.
There have been rumors that her estate was worth as much as $1 billion when she died, though its exact worth appears to be lower than that. Taylor had four kids and several grandchildren when she died, so they likely received the bulk of her fortune.
