Prince’s Estate: Musician Left Behind 67 Gold Bars, Hoarded Cash And Property
When Prince died at age 57 on April 21, 2016, from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, he left behind no will, but he did leave behind an estate of cash, gold bars and different properties, as a recently released inventory shows.
This inventory has been submitted to the Carver County Probate Court and has been compiled by Bremer Trust and shows that Prince had acquired tens of millions of dollars in personal property and real estate over the years, eschewing stocks as court papers show.
Court records now offer Prince fan’s a glimpse into the musician’s estate, which has been involved in probate proceedings since just days after Prince’s death. Prince’s estate has been valued at between $100 to $300 million, as the Star Tribune reported, but taxes may end up claiming half of that amount.
This amount of Prince’s estate includes his Paisley Park home and his studio which has been called his “mythical creative sanctuary.” Prince’s albums The Gold Experience, Diamonds and Pearls, The Black Album, Sign O’ The Times and Emancipation were all recorded at Prince’s Paisley Park studio.
Bremer Trust state that Prince had four bank accounts with $110,000 in them and 67 10-ounce gold bars that are worth $840,000. NPG Records Inc., NPG Music Publishing, Paisley Park Enterprises Inc. and Lotus Flow3r had $6 million in cash at the time that Prince died. Court records also show that NPG Records Inc., has over $6.8 million in arbitration receivable.
Many of Prince’s personal belongings in his estate, such as his musical equipment, household furnishings, 2006 Bentley, jewelry collection, and Graffiti Bride and Purple Rain motorcycles have currently not been given an estimated value and are being described as a “valuation in process.”
Inventory of Prince’s estate lists cash, property and gold bars https://t.co/QxY0dMNwMY
— billboard (@billboard) January 7, 2017
ABC News reported that Prince owned 18 vehicles besides his motorcycles and Bentley, including a 1985 Cadillac limousine.
The videos and the music from Prince’s famous vault have also not been valued and given a price. It is also reported to be unclear what the total value will be of Prince’s copyrights and trademarks, including a music catalog which is pages long and include songs like “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Kiss,” and all of his other hit songs.
Detroit News have stated that even though Prince was one of the few musicians who did not have streaming music available at the time of his death, his estate is now reportedly closer to deals which will allow Prince’s music to be streamed from sources like Apple Music and Spotify. The estate is allegedly trying to quickly close these deals before the Grammy Awards in February, according to three sources.
The Los Angeles Times reported that there were a pair of properties in Chanhassen, Minnesota which were worth $390,000 and were sold by Prince’s estate after his death. The largest of Prince’s Chanhassen estates included a 1.82 parcel of land which sold for $240,000. The original asking price for this home in November was listed to be $925,000, but that price would have also included the construction of a Gonyea Homes house at 3,600 square feet, and the buyer opted only to purchase the $240,000 parcel of land instead.
The second property in Chanhassen, Minnesota was listed at half an acre and sold for $150,000. Prince has two other properties that are currently pending sale, which include a 1.5 acre lot that is wooded on Lake Riley and a 1960s ranch home.
It is thought that Prince’s estate will be divided among his family members, which include sister Tyka Nelson and Prince’s half-siblings Norrine Nelson, Sharon Nelson, John Nelson, Omarr Baker and Alfred Jackson.
A hearing is currently reported to be scheduled for January 12 which may resolve some of the issues surrounding Prince’s estate, along with lawsuits that are currently pending which could also possibly affect the total value of Prince’s estate.
[Featured Image by Scott Olson/Getty Images]
