While many celebrities become rich after they’ve reached a certain level of success, others are born into wealthy families, making them rich long before they were famous.
From Anderson Cooper to Lisa Marie Presley, here are the famous stars whose families left them — or likely will leave them — millions of dollars in inheritance money.
Anderson Cooper
Potential Inheritance: $1.5 million
When his mother, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, passed away in June 2019, her son, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, reportedly inherited around $1.5 million from her estate. This was a much smaller sum than some people speculated he would receive, considering the once-vast fortune of the Vanderbilt family.
Cooper told Howard Stern in 2014: “I don’t believe in inheriting money … I think it’s a curse… From the time I was growing up, if I felt like there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know if I would have been so motivated.”
Paris and Nicky Hilton
Potential Inheritance: $2.3 billion
In 2007, businessman Barron Hilton, whose father Conrad Hilton founded the Hilton Hotels chain, announced that he was leaving most of his fortune to charity when he passes on. Still, if his granddaughters Paris and Nicky Hilton only inherit a fraction of his wealth, they’ll still likely be very rich.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Potential Inheritance: $3.4 billion
Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus isn’t just a television star. She’s also the daughter of a billionaire businessman, Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, who passed away in 2016. Although it was not reported how much Louis-Dreyfus may have inherited from her father’s estate, Forbes estimated his fortune to be around $3.4 billion in 2006.
Devon Aoki
Potential Inheritance: $50 million
When Benihana founder Rocky Aoki died in 2008, he left behind an estimated $50 million fortune. Although he had six children, Aoki reportedly disinherited four of them and instead chose to leave his estate to Steve Aoki and model Devon Aoki, his children from his third marriage. The two will reportedly not receive any of the money until they turn 45.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner
Potential Inheritance: $1.1 billion
Although their current positions in the White House are unpaid, both Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner come from wealthy real estate families and are likely to inherit a good deal of money someday. Prior to their roles in government, both held senior positions within their families’ companies. It’s reported that together they may have an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.
Armie Hammer
Potential Inheritance: $180 million
Actor Armie Hammer, who’s starred in films like Call Me By Your Name and The Lone Ranger, stands to inherit money from his wealthy family. His great-grandfather Armand Hammer founded a successful oil company, Occidental Petroleum.
Of his privileged childhood, Hammer told the Hollywood Reporter, “We got to live in amazing places. We had great things, toys, stuff like that. We would drive around in really nice cars—but at the same time, if we rolled down the window, my mom would be like, ‘You’re wasting air conditioning!'”
Zoë Kravitz
Potential Inheritance: $40 million
As the daughter of two very successful entertainers, musician Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet, “Big Little Lies” star Zoë Kravitz is bound to inherit some wealth from her parents. Lenny Kravitz himself grew up in a well-off family and now owns homes in far-flung places like Brazil and France.
Melissa Rivers
Potential Inheritance: $110 million
After her mother, comedian and TV personality Joan Rivers, died in 2014, Melissa Rivers reportedly inherited the bulk of her mother’s estate. US Weekly states that Rivers’ inheritance included $75 million in cash and a $35 million New York apartment. Her teenage son, Cooper, also reportedly received an inheritance.
Allison Williams
Potential Inheritance: $400 million
Actress Allison Williams is best known for her roles on HBO’s Girls and the film Get Out, but she’s hardly the only successful person in her family. Her father, news anchor Brian Williams, has reportedly made as much as $10 million a year throughout his career. So it’s not a stretch to assume that Allison Williams will have more than a few dollars coming her way in the form of an inheritance.
Gigi and Bella Hadid
Potential Inheritance: $5 million
Mohamed Hadid, the father of models Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid, reportedly built his multimillion-dollar fortune in real estate. This allowed him and wife Yolanda to raise their daughters in a privileged lifestyle and to likely give them an ample inheritance one day. Gigi Hadid has said that she felt guilty over her wealthy upbringing when she first started out in her career.
Sofia Coppola
Potential Inheritance: $3 billion
Sofia Coppola may be a talented film director in her own right, but being the daughter of legendary film director Francis Ford Coppola probably didn’t hurt her, either. The elder Coppola’s net worth is reported to be somewhere around $3 billion. This means that Sofia Coppola will likely receive a healthy inheritance at some point in the future.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Potential Inheritance: $30 million
Gwyneth Paltrow has claimed her wealthy parents didn’t give her any money when she was starting out in her acting career. However, when her father, film director and producer Bruce Paltrow, died in 2002, his net worth was a reported $30 million. It’s possible that she inherited some of his estate.
Rashida Jones
Potential Inheritance: $400 billion
With a music producer father who is reportedly worth $400 million, it’s likely that actress and writer Rashida Jones will never hurt for money. Among Quincy Jones’ accomplishments are the production of several of Michael Jackson’s albums and numerous movie scores. He’s also won 28 Grammys.
Kate and Rooney Mara
Potential Inheritance: $1.2 billion
Considering that sisters Kate and Rooney Mara are both actresses, you’d think that show business was in their blood. However, the two are actually the granddaughters of NFL royalty. Their grandfathers founded the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers football teams, creating a family fortune that’s reportedly worth billions.
Balthazar Getty
Potential Inheritance: $5 billion
Balthazar Getty has pursued careers in everything from acting to fashion design. However, thanks to the billion-dollar fortune of his family, he will likely never need to worry about money. Balthazar Getty’s great-grandfather, J. Paul Getty, founded an oil company that’s responsible for making the family extremely wealthy.
Stella McCartney
Potential Inheritance: $1 billion
As a child, fashion designer Stella McCartney has said that her parents didn’t spoil her with a lot of money. (McCartney says she won’t spoil her own children either.) However, considering that her dad, musician Paul McCartney, is said to have a net worth of over $1 billion, it’s more than possible that she will inherit some of his fortune when he eventually passes on.
Eve Jobs
Potential Inheritance: $21.7 billion
After Steve Jobs’ passing, the found of Apple certainly left a large amount of money behind. Approximately $21.7 billion. However, Steve’s daughter Eve won’t be seeing much of it, at least not right away. The money is being used by her mother for philanthropic work, but it can be difficult to burn through that much cash in one’s lifetime.
Nick Kroll
Potential Inheritance: $2 billion
Comedian Nick Kroll may have been born funny, but he was also born very rich. His father, businessman Jules B. Kroll, founded Kroll Inc., a company that was sold for $2 billion. As the son of a billionaire, the younger Kroll may be in line to inherit some of his family’s wealth.
Scarlett Johansson
Potential Inheritance: $165 million
While she’s achieved the distinction of becoming one of the top-earning actresses in Hollywood all on her own, Johansson is no stranger to privilege. Her architect father and film producer (and onetime ScarJo manager) mother raised Johansson and her siblings in Manhattan, and there she was able to attend some of the top children’s performing arts programs in the country. However, Johansson has said her parents struggled to raise four kids in the notoriously expensive borough of New York City.
And while not at the level of his movie-star wife, Johansson’s third husband Colin Jost has achieved a good amount of success as a longtime “Saturday Night Live” writer and cast member. While it’s unlikely Johansson would ever need to inherit money from her parents or husband, it’s possible she will.
Bryce Dallas Howard
Potential Inheritance: $140 million
Although actress Bryce Dallas Howard has downplayed her family’s wealth in interviews, saying that she wore “tattered” clothes to school, she reportedly grew up in a luxurious $27.5 million home in Greenwich, Connecticut, in a very wealthy family. Along with her siblings, she will likely be an heir to her father Ron Howard’s reportedly $140 million estate in the future.
Salma Hayek
Potential Inheritance: $200 million
You may already be aware that Salma Hayek married a billionaire. (She wed French businessman François-Henri Pinault in 2009.) However, what you may not know is that she was raised in a wealthy family herself in Mexico. Her father, Sami Hayek, has been described as a “well-to-do businessman” who sent his daughter to boarding school in the U.S. as a child. Needless to say, Hayek could be on the receiving end of multiple inheritances if her spouse and father pass away before her.
Edward Norton
Potential Inheritance: $7.2 billion
Edward Norton is known for his roles in movies like “Fight Club” and “Primal Fear,” but the actor’s family is better known for their role in developing shopping malls across the U.S. His grandfather James Rouse founded The Rouse Company, which was sold in 2004 for $7.2 billion. It’s unknown whether Rouse left Norton an inheritance when he passed away in 1996, but if he did, it likely wouldn’t have been an insignificant amount.
Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush
Potential Inheritance: $400 million
By some reports, the Bush family has more money than the Rockefeller family, with a net worth somewhere in the $400 million range. And both Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush are likely to be on the receiving end of a large inheritance someday from their parents, former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Before he was a politician, Bush founded an oil business and also owned the Texas Rangers baseball team.
Nicole Richie
Potential Inheritance: $200 million
When Nicole Richie was adopted by Lionel Richie as a young girl, she became a member of an extraordinarily wealthy family. As a successful musician with a long-time career, Richie’s net worth is reported to be around $200 million, and he owns a 28-room home in Beverly Hills. There’s no doubt that Richie’s three kids, including Nicole, will be just fine financially.
Spike Jonze
Potential Inheritance: $3 billion
Filmmaker Spike Jonze was born Adam Spiegel into the ultra-wealthy Spiegel family. One of his ancestors founded the Spiegel mail-order catalog company. While the company was reportedly sold before he was born, Jonze may still someday inherit family money stemming from the Spiegel family fortune.
Lisa Marie Presley
Potential Inheritance: $100 million
When Elvis Presley died in 1977, he left behind $5 million, a fraction of his reported lifetime earnings. However, under the guidance of his widow Priscilla Presley, royalties and merchandising soon grew the estate to $100 million. Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’ only child, inherited the estate when she turned 25 and set up a living trust.
Chevy Chase
Potential Inheritance: $50 million
Born Cornelius Crane Chase, the actor better known as Chevy Chase was raised in a prominent New York family. His mother was reportedly an heir to the Crane Plumbing family fortune and his stepmother was an heir to the Folgers Coffee company. Chase spent his summers at the Crane family estate in Massachusetts.
