John Lennon’s Will Excluded His 1st Son Julian, Who Might Have Missed Out on Millions of Dollars Because of It
John Lennon lived a busy life after The Beatles. We’ll find out more about his mid-1970s relationship with May Pang in the movie Lost Weekend: A Love Story (in theaters April 13, 2023). When he went back to his wife, Yoko Ono, after the Lost Weekend period, John more or less committed himself to raising his son, Sean, for several years. Meanwhile, his older son, Julian, endured a distant relationship with his father, which might have cost him millions of dollars when John’s will excluded him.
John Lennon’s relationship with his oldest son, Julian, was complicated and distant
John and his first wife, Cynthia, welcomed their son Julian in 1963. One of the reasons they married in 1962 was because she was pregnant, though it wasn’t planned.
John’s busy Beatles schedule and general unhappiness in his marriage manifested in him and Julian having something of a distant relationship. “I probably knew him as much as I know you,” Julian claimed in one 1998 interview, per Express. “That’s about how warm it was. There were cuddles now and then, but there was always an uneasy tension.”
Julian lived with John and Pang for a time during the Lost Weekend, but the son still had a delicate relationship with his dad. The dynamic changed when John and Yoko welcomed Julian’s half-brother, Sean, in 1975.
The complicated family makeup might have cost Julian Lennon close to $200 million when John nixed him from his will before his 1980 death.
John Lennon’s will cut out Julian Lennon, and it might have cost the son millions
John favored strong women. It’s why Paul McCartney knew his friend’s marriage to Cynthia was doomed. John’s aunt that raised him was strong-willed, and so was Yoko. When he divorced Cynthia before marrying Yoko, part of the separation settlement included £2,400 each year for her to care for Julian, plus a £50,000 trust the son would have inherited at 25, per another Express report.
It seems Yoko held such sway with her husband that John’s will cut any inheritance for Julian and kept it with his second family. That decision might have cost Julian well over $100 million.
The son fought for what he believed was rightfully his and won a $25 million settlement, per the Antonelli & Antonelli law firm. Yet the firm reports that, under New York law, Julian would have been entitled to a quarter of John’s fortune, which might have been closer to a $200 million inheritance. Now, $25 million isn’t a pittance, but it’s only 12.5% of what he could have received.
At the same time, John’s money might not have been subject to New York laws, even though he died there. The former Beatle never rescinded his British citizenship when he moved to NYC in the early 1970s. He regretted not making the switch since it could have saved him millions of pounds in taxes. English authorities probably would have come looking for their share after John’s tragic death.
The point is, Julian missed out on a substantial inheritance when his dad removed him from his will.
The family moved on from the controversy over John’s will
Julian Lennon might have lost out on millions of dollars when his dad cut him out of the will, but any animosity seems to be well in the past.
Express writes that Julian speaks well of and spends time with his half-brother, Sean. The surviving Lennon trio — Yoko and the brothers — have united at events that commemorate John. Julian helped spread the word about a 2018 Imagine reissue spearheaded by Yoko via Twitter.
Even though John Lennon’s will excluded his oldest son, Julian Lennon eventually inherited millions and moved past the bitterness to form a solid relationship with his half-brother and stepmother.
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