Television star Matthew Perry had never been married or had any children when he tragically passed away. He once said that his father, John Perry, would not inherit his money.
For the majority of his life, Matthew struggled with substance abuse and, at one point, brought alcohol into his father’s house, who was married to someone else at the time.
Perry revealed in his memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” that his stepmother was so upset by what he did that his father calmly asked him to leave his house. The Hollywood star remembered thinking to himself at that moment:
“Oh, I’ll leave, but neither of you will ever see a dime of my money, ever, I thought, but I did not say.”
Perry’s Death & Lawyer’s Views on Who Might Inherit His Fortune
Perry sadly died on October 28, 2023, at age 54, from an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home. Three days after the news of his untimely passing, an entertainment lawyer, Tre Lovell, shared his insights about who might inherit his wealth.
Lovell discussed Perry’s earnings during an interview from the hit ’90s sitcom, “Friends,” wherein he starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc for ten years.
Lovell explained that Perry and the rest of the cast members earn “$20 million” per year in residuals and will continue to receive them as long as the show continues to replay.
He added residuals continue to be paid even after someone dies as it is considered an “obligation” toward an actor, which could also go to their offspring.
In Perry’s case, Lovell also explained that there will be a designee who will determine where his royalties would go moving forward. According to him, it remains unclear if the Emmy-nominated actor had set up a trust for his estate or whether he had a will to determine his assets.
Lovell said that if Perry did not have any of the details mentioned above in place, then his fortune could go to his next of kin. He further explained:
“[Given] the fact that he didn’t have a spouse or children, it would go to his parents, equally.”
Lovell also divulged that Perry most likely set up something to at least have some of his money go to addiction recovery charities, which he supported. The television star, who spoke candidly about his finances over the years, revealed in an October 2022 interview that he forked out about “$9 million” trying to recover from his alcohol and drug addictions.
Moreover, Perry became involved in helping others overcome their addiction issues as he even turned his Malibu beach home into a men’s sober living facility called Perry House. In addition, he penned in his book that there was no chance that he could go broke while indulging his addiction.
Perry shared he foresaw a change in his life financially after landing the role of Chandler Bing in “Friends,” which turned him into a household name. He disclosed that he and his co-stars made a million dollars per episode and that by season ten, they were each earning “$1,100,040 an episode.”
“Friends” was viewed by 52.9 million people and was regarded as the most-watched show ever to follow a Super Bowl. It raked in more money through ad revenues, which totaled over half a million dollars for thirty seconds of airtime. The show became lucrative for NBC.
Soon after, Perry started getting movie offers that were paying a million dollars, and one of those films was “Fools Rush In,” in which he starred alongside Salma Hayek. Eventually, Perry realized that drowning his pain by giving into addiction was not beneficial for him and finally sobered up in 2013.
He once said, When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned – I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.” This quote is featured on his newly-founded foundation website, which was formed in his honor after he died.
