A black-and-white photo of Richard Burton

Celebrity

Who Richard Burton Left His Money to When He Died (None of It Went to Elizabeth Taylor)

Here's who famous actor Richard Burton left money to after he died, from his fourth wife to his teacher from growing up.

by Eryn Murphy

Published on February 12, 2023

2 min read

Actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor are considered to be one of Hollywood’s most timeless love stories. The iconic celebrity couple made multiple movies together and were married twice; they divorced for good in 1976. After Burton died in 1984, he did not leave any money to Taylor.

Richard Burton left most of his money to his fourth wife

Throughout his lifetime, Burton was married four times. He was married to actor Sybil Christopher from 1949 until 1963.

Burton married Taylor for the first time in 1964 and divorced in 1974. The two married for a second time in 1975 until they divorced again in 1976.

In 1976, Burton married Suzy Miller. They divorced in 1982. He married his fourth wife Sally Hay in 1983, and they were married until Burton’s death in 1984.

According to the Associated Press, Burton “left the bulk of his $2.7 million estate to his fourth wife and nothing to Elizabeth Taylor.”

The Associated Press reports that following Burton’s death, his fourth wife also inherited “Burton’s homes in Haiti and in Switzerland.”

Richard Burton left money to his children

Burton and Christopher had two biological children together, Kate Burton and Jessica Burton.

Before she married Burton, Taylor had four children. She had two children with her ex-husband Michael Wilding named Michael Howard Wilding and Christopher Edward Wilding. In her marriage with Mike Todd, Taylor had a daughter named Liza Todd.

While married to Eddie Fisher, Taylor was in the process of adopting a daughter named Maria. When she divorced Fisher and married Burton, Burton adopted Maria with Taylor.

Following his death, Burton also left money for his children. While he did not leave any money to Taylor, he did leave money for some of her children.

According to the Associated Press, “Burton left nearly $350,000 each to Katherine and Jessica Burton, his daughters from his first marriage to Sybil Williams, and $279,000 to Maria Burton, whom he and Miss Taylor adopted.”

The Associated Press reports that the actor “also left $15,000 each to his former step-children, Liza Todd and Christopher Wilding.”

The actor left money to people who were not his family

In addition to leaving behind money for his wife and children, Burton also left behind money for other members of his family and some of his peers.

According to the Associated Press, Burton also left $15,000 each to several other people, including his four surviving brothers and sisters; Bob Wilson, his wardrobe assistant, and Ron Berkeley, his makeup man.”

The actor’s birth name was Richard Jenkins, and according to the Associated Press he based his stage name on “Philip Burton, a Welsh school teacher who encouraged his interest in the theater and taught him the rudiments of drama” and he left his former teacher ” with $15,000.”

Burton died on Aug. 5, 1984, due to an intracerebral hemorrhage when he was 58 years old. Burton’s wife Sally Hay Burton is still alive today at 75 years old.