Highlights
- Betty White reportedly left no money to her stepchildren.
- Speculation suggests that White's estate, valued at $75 million, was mostly left to charities.
- One of White's homes in Los Angeles was demolished.
When popular celebrities pass away, it typically doesn't take long after for fans to want to know about the celebrity's estate. After all, fans have wanted to know things like how Lisa Marie Presley's estate affected her family and if Tupac Shakur's sister got rich from the rapper's estate.
On top of that, when stars like Phillip Seymour Hoffman refuse to leave money to their kids, that fascinates people. With that in mind, fans almost certainly will be interested in what happened to Betty White's estate and the homes she owned before passing away.
Betty White Reportedly Left No Money To Her Stepchildren
When Betty White passed away in 2021, the beloved actor was about to turn 100 years old. Given White's advanced age at the time, nobody could be shocked by her passing. However, when reports started to come out about what happened to White's estate, it took many observers by surprise.
After getting together in the '60s, Betty White and her final husband, Allen Ludden, were married for nearly two decades. The couple's marriage only ended when Ludden passed away. While White never gave birth during her life, she was a stepmother to Ludden's three children.
Who were Betty White's husbands, according to Who's Dated Who?
Husband: | When They Married: | When Their Marriage Ended: |
Dick Barker | 7th Jul 1945 | Divorced on 18th Dec 1945 |
Lane Allen | 1947 | Divorced in 1949 |
Allen Ludden | 14th Jun 1963 | Ludden passed away on June 9, 1981 |
According to reports, White had a close relationship with her stepchildren despite early tensions between the actor and their biological mother. According to a 2020 Closer Weekly report, White planned to include her stepchildren in plans for her 98th birthday party that year.
Given that White remained on good terms with her stepchildren, it would have made sense if she left her estate to them. However, if the reports are accurate, White at the very least didn't leave the majority of her fortune to her stepkids.
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Decades after Sonny Bono's passing, his ex-wife Cher sued his widow Mary Bono for a fortune.According to Celebrity Net Worth, Betty White's estate is valued at $75 million. That means that White left behind a lot of resources that seemingly have been used to support the causes she cared about deeply during her life.
In December 2022, The Daily Star published an article about White's estate that was updated in December 2023. As that report makes clear, the exact details of White's estate plan have never been publicly divulged.
Even though it is impossible to be certain about where White's money has gone, it is widely believed that she left most of it to charities. Citing unnamed sources, The Daily Star concluded that was where White's money went.
"Despite the official documents remaining private, various sources have speculated on where Betty’s money ended up. One source claimed that, though Betty’s family and friends will be taken care of, most of her estate went to her dogs."
Since The Daily Star cited unnamed sources and the publication is questionable, it makes sense to take that report with a grain of salt. However, more credible sources have published reports that back up what The Daily Star claimed.
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Anna Nicole Smith spent years fighting to get a piece of her billionaire husband J. Howard Marshall's estate and the Supreme Court even weighed in.In 2022, The Wall Street Journal published an article about an estate sale involving items from Betty White's personal collection. According to that piece, White's personal items that went up for sale fetched an impressive $4 million from that auction.
Who are Betty White's stepchildren, according to Closer Weekly?
- David Ludden (Born in 1948)
- Martha Ludden (Born in 1950)
- Sarah Ludden (Born in 1952)
While that is impressive, the most important part of the article came at the end. The Wall Street Journal's article revealed that the proceeds of the auction were going to the causes that White cared profoundly about.
"The funds raised from the auction will support charities focused on the environment and animal welfare, causes Ms. White focused on throughout her life, according to her estate."
On top of Closer Weekly and The Wall Street Journal's reporting, OK Magazine also published an article as well. Citing a "pal" of the actor's, OK Magazine also reported that most of White's fortune went to charity.
"A pal dished that the dimple-cheeked animal activist left the bulk of her estate to 'a trust dedicated to helping the animal causes and shelters she gave to so generously during her lifetime.' Now the star’s most cherished possessions — including clothes, costumes, jewelry, Hollywood mementos and seven Emmy Awards — are being sold off at auction to benefit critters, too."
Betty White's Beloved Home Was Sold
Betty White's Second Home Was Demolished
According to OK Magazine's aforementioned report, the plan was to sell off Betty White's belongings to raise money for charity. Even with that in mind, it is shocking to know what happened to one of her homes.
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When Kirstie Alley passed away far too young, it was fascinating to see what happened to the fortune she left behind.On December 31, 2021, Betty White passed away in her home in Los Angeles, California. Not even a year later, it was revealed that the same home was gone when White's former assistant Kiersten Mikelas revealed that it had been demolished.
“This is such a busy time of year and coming up on the anniversary of Betty’s passing is hitting in ways I hadn’t anticipated. Her Brentwood home is no more (save the fireplaces which will be gone in short order).”
As sad as that news seems at first glance, according to The New York Post, White had another home she really cherished. According to reports, it was White's home in Carmel, California that reportedly meant more to the actor.
"White, who passed away on Friday morning , lived in a five-bedroom, six-bathroom Brentwood home, located in West Los Angeles. But if the trailblazing actress had it her way, she would have remained at her longtime marital home in Carmel, which she first built with her late husband, Allen Ludden, when they bought the land in 1978."
According to a People article from a handful of months after White's passing, her beloved Carmel home sold for $3 million more than the asking price.
"Betty White's beloved beach house has found a buyer — for nearly $3 million more than it was asking. The home sold for $10.775 million, PEOPLE confirms. It was first listed in March, three months after the screen icon's death at 99, for $7.95 million."
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