As one of the most talked-about figures, Jerry Lewis has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
What was Jerry Lewis' net worth and career earnings?
Jerry Lewis was an American comedian, actor, singer, director, producer, and screenwriter who had a net worth of $50 million. In the late 50s and early 60s, Jerry Lewis was one of the highest-paid entertainers on the planet, able to command large salaries and back-end profits from his films. Jerry Lewis first became famous as a funny man in the comic team ofDean Martinand Jerry Lewis. He then became a solo actor in films and TV and a singer, director, and producer.
Jerry Lewis had well over 70 acting credits to his name. He was the recipient of lifetime achievement awards from The American Comedy Awards, Venice Film Festival, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Lewis has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Lewis was known for being host of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Labor Day Telethon. He was also the national chair for the MDA. Jerry Lewis died on August 20, 2017, at the age of 91.
Estate Disinheritance
In the wake of his death, it was revealed that Jerry had disinherited his six oldest children. Here's the excerpt in question dealing with six of his seven children:
"I have intentionally excludedGary Lewis, Ronald Lewis, Anthony Joseph Lewis, Christopher Joseph Lewis, Scott Anthony Lewis, and Joseph Christopher Lewis and their descendants as beneficiaries of my estate, it being my intention that they shall receive no benefits hereunder."
The comedian and filmmaker was known to have had a complicated, if not outright hostile, relationship with his six sons from his first marriage to British singer Patti Palmer. One of those sons – Joseph Lewis – actually died from a heroin overdose in 2009 and had been dead for three years when the will was executed.
The Lewis estate is estimated to be worth millions in cash and real estate holdings, with the real big money value coming in the intellectual property rights to Lewis' films, which the comedian owned himself. These assets, instead of being distributed among Lewis' living children, will instead go to his second wife (and widow) SanDee Pitnick, with his by-all-accounts beloved daughter Danielle being next in line.
In summary, the total wealth of Jerry Lewis reflects strategic moves.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
