It has been more than three years since Stan Lee was gone, but his legacy remains alive. Who would forget his Marvel creations, like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the other world-renowned heroes in this spectrum that brought millions to his name? But, where did those millions go when he passed away?
Stan Lee reportedly had $50 million net worth at the time of his passing in November 2018. So, who inherited his fortune?
The Works and Revenue of Stan Lee
The comic genius is known for being the former head of Marvel Comics. He spearheaded this family-run business that turned into a huge multimedia corporation and conquered the comic and film scenes.
Who would have thought that a kid who dreamed of writing the Great American Novel would create the best fictional superheroes many know today? He was the Marvel Comics’ editor in the 1960s and later became its president and chairman.
He helped revitalize the superhero genre with the help of other notable artists, like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, per Celebrity Net Worth. He brought the likes of Fantastic Four, Thor, Captain America, and many others to life who later dominated the silver screen.
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How Much Did Stan Lee Earn From His Marvel Characters?
Movies involving Stan Lee's superhero characters have generated over $25 billion in revenue at the global box office. However, come 2009, the Walt Disney Company bought Marvel for $4 billion.
That said, did Stanley see a huge financial from this? The short answer is no.
"I don't have $200 million. I don't have $150 million. I don't have $100 million or anywhere near that,” he told Playboy back in 2014.
When asked if he thought it was fine, considering George Lucas made $7.3 billion with incredible works like the Star Wars and the Indian Jones franchises, he seemed good with that.
“George Lucas did it all by himself. He came up with the ideas. He produced the movies. He wrote and directed them and held the rights to merchandising. It was all his. In my case, I worked for the publisher. If the books didn't sell, the publisher went broke—and a lot of publishers did go broke."
Stan Lee Got His Millions, But He Lost in the Long Run
The sad truth is that Stan Lee won in court after suing Marvel for not giving him any profit and credit for his hard work. Unfortunately, he lost in the long run, considering that Disney bought Marvel in 2009 for $4 Billion. None of which Stan Lee benefited from after the sale.
Still, Disney agreed to pay him an annual salary of $1 million for a lifetime, which isn't exactly a small sum but is not enough to bring Lee justice for the hard work he put into bringing these comic characters to life.
This brings us to the question of how much fortune he actually gained on his deathbed and where his fortune went.
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Who Inherited Stan Lee’s Fortune?
Stan Lee left a daughter, J.C. Lee, and a brother, Larry Leiber, who also happens to be a writer and artist for Marvel.
Cheatsheet revealed nobody really knew what happened to his fortune. But in an interview with the iconic comic book writer back in October 2018, he seemed to say to The Daily Beast that his only child would inherit all his money.
“This money will be left to her, and instead of waiting until I die, I will give her as much as I can for her to enjoy now. And that’s what I’m trying to do. Sometimes we have a few discussions. ‘Dad, can I ever have another few bucks?’ And I say, ‘Are you sure you’ll be left with enough?’ But there’s no problem. There’s no problem at all.”
As it turns out, Stan Lee's estate had never grown at all beyond his death. Although he initially planned to pursue a $1 Billion lawsuit against a Chinese firm for taking rights to his name, Stan ultimately decided to not push through with it.
The Marvel Comics legend died in the same year, which led to Marvel acquiring Stan Lee's rights, meaning more of his iconic Marvel superheroes will serve more MCU diehards in the future of the franchise's cinematic universe.
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