Stars Who Left Their Kids Nothing After Death: Robert and Bindi Irwin’s Meager Inheritance Shock

It’s the final twist that no one wants to see coming.

Being left out of a parent’s will is a shock for anyone – but for the children of mega-wealthy celebrities, being left empty handed is an especially devastating affair. 

This week, shock reports surfaced that Bindi and Robert Irwin inherited a meagre payout from their father Steve’s estate despite his fame and fortune.  

The Irwins are far from alone, however. Here, we take a look at other celebrity offspring who were left empty handed when it came time to open the will.

Michael Hutchence

Aussie rocker Michael Hutchence may have been worth millions at the height of the INXS rocker’s fame, but his daughter Tiger Lily is said to have received very little from her dad’s fortune following his death by suicide in 1997.

Michael is said to have ensured Tiger Lily (whose full name is Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof) was financially taken care of before his death – setting up for her to receive three lump sums, each of £12 million, from his estate when she turned 18, 21, and 25.

But in 2019, Tiger Lily, then aged 22, revealed she had barely received anything.

‘I’ve never received anything from anyone,’ she told Richard Lowenstein, the filmmaker who made the 2019 documentary about her famous father.

She apparently had just one meeting with an accountant about her father’s financial matters when she turned 21 ‘that was so bad [she] didn’t want to do it again’.

Following the interview, Lowenstein claimed Tiger Lily had told him she’d received an envelope containing just £500, around 10 years ago. 

Lowenstein said Tiger Lily told him she was given the meagre sun from Colin Diamond’s Chardonnay Investments, which controls Michael’s estate.

In 1996, a year before his death aged 37, Michael drew up his last will. 

It is believed the first $500,000 of his estate was bequeathed to charities Amnesty International and Greenpeace.

Another portion was to be split among his family, including his mother, father, brother, half-sister and partner Paula, who Tiger Lily tragically found dead from an overdose in 2000.

The remaining half of his estate was intended for Tiger Lily, who was adopted by Bob Geldof after Michael’s death, to inherit.

Despite outlining in his will how he wanted his fortune to be divided, claims have since been made that Michael actually ‘died penniless’.

An executor report given to Michael’s family eight years after his suicide stated he had just $506 in cash at the time of his death. The report added that his share of INXS’s bank balance was a measly $572.

Don Bradman

Cricket legend Sir Donald Bradman is regarded as one of Australia’s greatest sportsmen of all time. 

And while he possessed significant wealth at the time of his death in 2001 – largely thanks to his investments, property and commercial use of his name – Donald’s son John and daughter Shirley reportedly failed to pocket a sizeable inheritance.

Rather than leaving his fortune to his children, Donald structured his will so that most of his estate went to the Bradman Foundation – a charity set up to promote cricket and preserve his legacy. 

The Foundation became the sole legal owner of the Bradman brand for commercial purposes, meaning the children were unable to profit from its use. 

This led to tensions in the early 2000s, when John Bradman sued the Foundation, arguing the its commercialisation risked turning ‘Bradman’ into a brand name rather than preserving it as a revered sporting legacy.

The matter was settled outside of court, with some restrictions agreed upon for how the Foundation could use the Bradman name. 

However, the settlement did not alter the inheritance, and the bulk of Don Bradman’s estate and rights still remain with the Foundation. 

Peter Brock 

Motorsport legend Peter Brock was one of Australia’s most famous racing drivers, having won the Bathurst 1000 nine times. 

He died in a rally crash in Western Australia in 2006 at age 61, and left the bulk of his estate to his de facto partner Julie Bamford, who he had been dating for three years. 

His two adult children Robert and Alexandria (who were from his first marriage to Heather Russell) meanwhile reportedly received a modest cash bequest rather than any major share of his assets, memorabilia or licensing rights.

This reportedly became a point of contention, as Brock’s children apparently wanted key items preserved, while Bamford had the right to sell or manage them. 

Bamford indeed sold off some of his items to settle debts, with several high-profile auctions in the late 2000s and early 2010s featuring items from Brock’s career including Bathurst-winning race suits, trophies and cars. 

Brock’s children were also reportedly unhappy that Bamford was able to control the name ‘Peter Brock’ for commercial use, meaning she was able to authorise merchandise, appearances and licensing. 

Aaron Spelling 

Her film and television producer father Aaron Spelling died back in 2006, leaving behind an estate worth an estimated $500 million.

But Tori Spelling was widely reported to have only received approximately $800,000 in cash and stocks in the late TV mogul’s will.

Tori’s mother Candy, with whom she has reportedly had a difficult relationship, inherited the bulk of her husband’s fortune.

In an interview with ABC back in 2013, Beverly Hills 90210 star Tori admitted that she’d expected more.

‘I lost my father. I lost my hero. But did I think I would get more? Yes,’ she said during the interview. 

While promoting her 2014 memoir Candy at Last, Candy Spelling told The New York Times that her daughter lacked the financial responsibility to handle a larger sum of money. 

‘[Tori] would close a store and drop $50,000 to $60,000,’ adding, ‘I never did anything like that. She just went crazy,’ she said. 

Philip Seymour Hoffman 

Philip Seymour Hoffman famously left his entire $35million fortune to his partner following his death in 2014. 

The Oscar winner died aged 46 of an accidental overdose, and left everything to his costume designer girlfriend Mimi O’Donnell rather than the couple’s kids Cooper, Tallulah and Willa. 

Hoffman reportedly told his accountant he didn’t want his children to be ‘trust fund kids’, and therefore entrusted O’Donnell to provide for the children as needed. 

Because Hoffman and O’Donnell were not married at the time of his death, the estate was subject to significant estate taxes (reportedly around $15 million) which reduced what O’Donnell ultimately received. 

 As well as wishing for his kids not to become spoiled, Hoffman also specified in his will that he wanted his son to grow up surrounded by culture. 

‘It is my strong desire [that] my son, Cooper Hoffman, be raised and reside in or near the borough of Manhattan [or] Chicago, Illinois, or San Francisco, California,’ he wrote.

Jayne Mansfield

American actress Jayne Mansfield died in 1967 in a car accident, leaving behind five children: Jayne Marie, Miklós, Zoltán, Mariska and Antonio. 

While Mansfield appeared glamorous and wealthy during her career, her finances were anything but healthy.

By the time she died, she had racked up significant debts including unpaid taxes and mortgages. 

Because her estate was insolvent, there was no meaningful inheritance to distribute to her children. 

Instead, the kids were supported by their surviving parents or guardians.

Mansfield’s daughter Mariska Hargitay, who is an actress known for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, has spoken publicly about how her mother’s death shaped her life, but has never spoken about receiving any fortune. 

Steve Irwin 

Steve Irwin became a global household name thanks to his wildly popular series The Crocodile Hunter, Croc Files, and The Crocodile Hunter Diaries.

He also starred in his very own feature film, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, which also proved a smash hit at the box office. 

While Steve’s big screen debut received mixed reviews from critics, it was a different story with fans, with Collision Course grossing an impressive $33.4 million on a $12 million budget.

But despite all of his success, at the time of his passing, Steve left his wife Terri, 61, and children Robert, 21, and Bindi, 27, with a surprisingly meagre inheritance.

Rather than bestowing untold riches onto his children, Steve left Robert and Bindi with a life insurance policy totalling just $200,000 (£98,000), realestate.com.au reports. 

While the figure may seem surprising, Steve put his money where his mouth was when it came to conservation, reinvesting most of his earnings back into Australia Zoo. 

Robert and Bindi surely stand to inherit the iconic Queensland conservation facility one day.