Joan Rivers was beloved by both fans and family — but who inherited her vast fortune
after her death in 2014? What happened to her possessions? And how did a dog named Spike
make its way into her will? The answers to these questions and more, coming up.
Legendary comedian Joan Alexandra Molinsky, better known as Joan Rivers,
seemingly came from nowhere in the 1960s. From that point on, however,
Rivers went on to break down comedy barriers, courting controversy both on and off the stage.
"Fifth year, fifth year, fifth year, it's all I keep saying.
They're in their fifth year — so is Cher's boyfriend."
All the while, she never made any apologies for her brash,
sometimes abrasive, but frequently funny persona.
"I do believe we can be friends again someday. Just so long as she honors the restraining order."
"Oh [bleep.]"
For these reasons and more, Joan Rivers is the stuff of comedy history. The star performer also
made a significant amount of money throughout her career, and not just in comedy. Rivers
wrote bestselling books, appeared on TV, acted in films, and even had her own line of jewelry.
All combined, Joan Rivers' estimated net worth was an impressive $150 million,
as Entertainment Tonight reports. So where did all that money go when she died?
Rivers passed away due to complications from throat surgery in 2014,
at the age of 81. She was married twice in her life, but had only one daughter, Melissa Rivers,
who was born in 1968. Melissa Rivers, whose birth name was Melissa Warburg Rosenberg,
was close with her mother, and the two entertainers worked together on several occasions.
For this reason, Melissa Rivers and her son, Edgar Cooper Endicott, who goes by Cooper,
were the first persons Rivers thought of when it came time to place her assets in a living trust.
As well as Melissa and Cooper, Rivers made provisions for her niece and nephew, Caroline
and Andrew Waxler. Indeed, the majority of the legendary performer's significant fortune remained
with her family. That money, however, went into a blind trust, so specific amounts and distribution
schedules are not a matter of public record. It's estimated, though, that Melissa Rivers was
left with $75 million of her mother's money, as well as Joan's lavish New York City condo,
valued at $35 million at the time that Joan Rivers died. The penthouse triplex,
totalling more than 5,000 square feet, was put on the market for $38 million in 2021.
Joan Rivers also passed down all her possessions to Melissa, but for her part,
Rivers made clear to her daughter that she cared little about what
happened to them after she was gone. According to Melissa, Rivers said:
"Sell anything and everything you don't want. Don't feel beholden to my possessions."
In addition to her family members, Joan Rivers left some money to her assistants, Jocelyn
Pickett and Sabrina Lott Miller. She also named her former publicist Scott Currie in the trust.
In addition to family members and close and trusted employees, the comedian also remembered
several charitable organizations when it came time to make her final arrangements. Rivers
left unspecified sums to the Jewish Guild for the Blind in Manhattan, the Jewish Home and Hospital
Federation of Manhattan, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation,
among others. One other charity that Joan Rivers remembered in her estate, the California's Guide
Dogs for the Blind, also reveals the star's undying devotion to dogs and animal welfare
in general. It makes sense then, the last person named in her trust was her dog, Spike.
If it weren't for Spike, in fact, Rivers might have died much sooner.
Joan Rivers' second husband died by suicide in 1987, which left her so distraught she nearly
followed suit. It was her dog's companionship that saved her. As Rivers told The Daily Beast:
"I was sitting in this big empty house in Bel Air [...] I had the gun in my lap,
and the dog sat on the gun. I lecture on suicide because things turn around."
Because of this, Rivers also set aside money for the continued care of her beloved pet.
Man or animal, it's fair to say that anyone who knew Joan Rivers felt her loss acutely.
As her former publicist and longtime friend Scott Currie explained to Page Six in 2014:
"Nothing can ever make up for the loss I feel every day."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts,
please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.