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'Playboy' Founder Hugh Hefner’s Net Worth Was Shockingly Low At The Time of His Death

At the company's peak era, they were conjuring tens of millions of dollars in profit, all thanks to his booming empire, the clubs and the casinos.

BY SUNAYNA KANJILAL

PUBLISHED SEP 7, 2023

Hugh Hefner, Getty Images | Charley Gallay

Name	Hugh Hefner
Net Worth	$50 Million
Annual Income	$116,667
Sources of Income	Playboy magazine
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	Apr 9, 1926 - Sep 27, 2017
Age	91
Nationality	United States of America
Profession	Journalist, Businessman, Editor

Hugh Hefner's net worth

Hugh Hefner | Getty Images | John Heller

American businessman Hugh Hefner started his career as a writer with the Esquire Magazine, but soon decided that he was going to launch his own venture. He launched the famous "Playboy" magazine. He had to mortgage his furniture and loan money to launch Playboy. The first issue of Playboy featured nude images of mega-star Marilyn Monroe that were actually taken five years before the first issue. Hugh Hefner's net worth at the time of his death in September 2017 was somewhere around $50 million, as per Celebrity Net Worth.

Hugh Hefner's sources of income

Hugh Hefner arrives at London Airport from Chicago | Getty Images | Ted West

The magazine was his main source of income. At the company's peak, they were making tens of millions of dollars in profit, all thanks to his booming empire, the clubs and the casinos. Unfortunately, Hefner did not retreat from the physical magazine format, even when the world went digital. At the time of his death, the company was not the same anymore. It was mainly operating as an intellectual property licensing business. The stock price was down by 80%. At the time of the death, Hefner owned around 35% of the company.

Playboy magazine

While working for Esquire magazine, he asked for a $5 raise but when he was denied that he decided to quit and start his own venture. He took a loan of $600 and raised $8,000, including $1,000 from his mother. The first issue came out in 1953 and sold over 50,000 copies. Hefner served as the Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises which was the publishing group that managed the magazine.

Hugh Hefner's assets

Hugh Hefner lived in the 21,000 square foot Playboy mansion in Los Angeles, California from 1974 until his death. Interestingly, he never owned the mansion but paid an annual fee to cover rent and other expenses like food and parties. In a typical year, this rent was around $1 million. The mansion was put up for sale by Playboy Enterprises in 2016 for an astounding $200 million. The mansion was bought in June 2016 for a whopping $110 million by Daren Metropoulos who was the billionaire businessman, Charles Dean Metropoulos's son. His other assets include $306,548 in cash, $36,802,558 in stocks and bonds, and $6,122,990 in a joint account with an unnamed person.

Hugh Hefner's personal life

Hugh Hefner and Crystal Hefner | Getty Images | Charley Gallay

Hefner married his high school sweetheart Mildred Williams in 1949. Mildred Williams, however, cheated on him and confessed it. The two split in 1959. The former couple have two kids, Christie and David. After the split, he admitted to being involved with many of his playmates. At the age of 58, he finally decided to marry Kimberley Conrad, who was 36 years younger than him. The two had sons, Marston and Cooper Hefner. The couple divorced in 2010 and he married his third wife, Crystal Harris. They were together until his death.

FAQs

Who inherited Hugh Hefner's fortune?

His wealth was evenly distributed among his four children and his last wife, Crystal Hefner. He reportedly left behind a fortune of $35 million for them.