Alain Delon's secret fortune: Heirs' battle and untold millions
4:42 PM EDT, August 19, 2024
Deceased on Sunday, Alain Delon was not only an actor but also a businessman who skillfully leveraged his image to accumulate wealth. Media speculate that the size of the legendary actor's fortune is impressive. However, the exact amount of the inheritance remains a closely guarded secret.
As AFP writes, in the last year of the star's life, there was a "positional war" between his heirs. The actor's children, through their lawyers, were in a dispute about their father's medical care. The media covered the matter extensively.
The actor successfully leveraged the "Delon" brand and his image for years. Producing luxury items proved to be a success. In Asia, cigarettes, alcohol, and perfumes bearing his name were sold. The luxury perfume brand used photos of Delon from the 1960s in its advertisements.
Throughout his career and acting successes, Delon amassed a significant fortune because he produced about 30 films. However, the exact amount of Delon's inheritance remains unknown.
For 15 years, the actor had been selling his cars, art collections, and wines at auctions. "I prefer to leave money to my children," he told AFP in 2017, adding that he hates "posthumous sales."
Delon was passionate about art. As early as the 1960s, he began buying graphics. He collected sculptures, elite wine brands, and expensive watches. The scale of his wealth can be inferred from the works of art he put up for sale before his death. For example, one painting by Eugene Delacroix, the most outstanding representative of Romanticism in European art, belonged to Delon. Another painting, by Raoul Dufy, was valued at over $1 million.
Several years earlier, when Delon first auctioned his art collection, it included about 40 paintings from the 1950s. The auction broke several world records and brought in nearly $10 million.
Precious weapon collection
In 2000, the actor obtained Swiss citizenship, which is known for its favorable taxation. He also had a property near Geneva. Another possible real estate, in addition to the estate in Douchy (Loiret region), where he settled several decades ago with his then-partner Mireille Darc and where he lived until the end of his life, remains a secret.
Delon also collected weapons. Part of this arsenal, 72 pieces including sports weapons, was confiscated in Douchy in February 2024. The property had a shooting range, but the actor did not have a permit for these weapons and did not declare them.
