Who did Liza Minnelli's father leave all of his money to when he died?
Why was Liza embroiled in a battle over his property years after his death? And which relative
received a shockingly low inheritance? Here's who really inherited Vincente Minnelli's fortune.
The name Minnelli likely makes you think of Liza, but her father, Vincente Minnelli, also
had a notable impact in Hollywood. Born Lester Anthony Minnelli in Chicago in 1903, Vincente
was a well-known film director whose work helped to shape Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s.
Vincente was born into a musical family as the son of a conductor. As a child,
he often traveled with his family's drama company, visiting many areas in the Midwest,
before the family moved to Ohio permanently. After graduating from high school, he relocated
to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Early in his career, Minnelli worked
as a designer of window displays for department stores and as a photographer's assistant. Later,
once he broke into the theater industry, he worked as a set designer and costumer on Broadway.
Later, Vincente moved on to become a director and producer, making his debut with 1943's "Cabin in
the Sky." The musical was produced by MGM, under whom he would continue to work for decades.
Vincente became known for his directorial efforts, especially his musicals,
whose visuals tended to have characteristically bright colors and complex patterns. He would go
on to win the Oscar for Best Director for his work on 1958's "Gigi." The director was
deeply dedicated to his art, and continued to work until around a decade before his death.
"He was a perfectionist. He so cared about how things looked."
Vincente Minnelli died in 1986 at the age of 83 of a combination of emphysema and pneumonia,
according to The New York Times. After his death, his daughter, Liza Minnelli, from his marriage to
Judy Garland, was named executor of his estate. Despite her parents' divorce when she was young,
Liza and her father reportedly had a very strong relationship.
Growing up, Liza apparently spent six months of the year with each of her parents.
Still, Liza didn't necessarily carry out everything her father requested in his will.
Most prominently, Vincente Minnellli expressed in his will the desire that his body be cremated,
per the Los Angeles Times. However, family members instead chose to bury him in Forest
Lawn Memorial Park, a cemetery in Glendale, California, just outside of Los Angeles.
Moreover, though Vincente expressly said he did not want a funeral,
a memorial service was held, and was attended by many of Hollywood's most famous celebrities.
After a long and successful career in Hollywood, Vincente Minnelli died with a fair few assets to
his name. According to the Los Angeles Times, legal papers revealed that at the time of
his death, Vincente had personal items worth over $130,000 and real property worth around
$1 million. Liza inherited nearly everything her father owned, from jewelry and house furnishings
to cash assets, aside from a few exceptions noted in his will. Vincente's wife at the time
of his death was granted a $100,000 inheritance, a sum which would be worth around $255,000 today.
Similarly, a small sum of $5,000 was left to Vincente's other daughter,
Tina Nina Minnelli, from his second marriage. Vincente's will didn't
explain the discrepancy between Liza and Christiane's inheritances,
and simply suggested that Christiane was already "well provided for," per the Los Angeles Times.
In addition to inheriting her father's possessions,
Liza Minnelli inherited his house, the Minnelli mansion in Beverly Hills. However, she didn't
inherit full control over the house. While Liza technically owned the property, Vincente's wife
at the time of his death, Margaretta Lee, was granted express permission to continue
living in the house until her death. However, this arrangement would later cause problems.
According to Curbed Los Angeles, in 2000, 14 years after Vincente had died,
a battle erupted between Liza and Margaretta Lee over the home. The problems began when
Liza reportedly decided to sell the home, despite Margaretta Lee refusing to move out.
Liza sold the house anyway, and stopped paying for any upkeep required on the mansion,
including the electricity bills, in the hopes of pushing her former step-mother out.
After much back-and-forth, Liza ended up paying rent to the new
owners for Margaretta Lee to remain in the house until her death in 2009. In 2021,
Insider reported that the owners still hadn't decided whether to restore
or demolish the mansion, meaning that the house was essentially abandoned.