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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe most widely cited contemporary estimate put Richard Burton’s estate at $4.58 million, according to a United Press International report published on November 18, 1984. That figure came through the Sunday Mirror, which cited estate auditors; it was not a directly published, independently verified probate statement. Later reports gave different figures for proceedings in Bermuda and Britain, and the available accounts do not reconcile them into one final total.
What was Richard Burton’s net worth when he died?
Burton died on August 5, 1984, at his home in Céligny, Switzerland, from a cerebral haemorrhage, according to the National Museum Wales. The best-known figure reported soon afterward was $4.58 million for his estate. UPI relayed the Sunday Mirror’s account, which attributed the estimate to estate auditors. It should therefore be treated as a contemporaneous newspaper-reported estate figure, not as a modern net-worth calculation or a verified consolidated probate total. UPI’s November 18, 1984 report
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What did the 1984 report say the estate contained?
The UPI account described the following reported components. These were figures attributed to the Sunday Mirror’s account, not independently audited values published by UPI.
| Reported category | Reported amount |
|---|---|
| Money in a Bermuda bank | More than $2 million |
| Property | $1 million |
| Investments | Nearly $100,000 |
| Art and personal effects | About $380,000 |
| Film residuals | $20,000 |
The report also said the bulk of the estate went to Burton’s widow, Sally Burton, while his daughters and siblings received bequests. It described a Picasso sketch that Sally Burton reportedly said she was content to leave with Elizabeth Taylor, and a Dylan Thomas manuscript auditors reportedly could not locate. These details, like the valuation, come from the newspaper account rather than a complete accounting reproduced in the UPI report.
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Subsequent coverage concerned particular wills and jurisdictions. Its figures should not be added to the 1984 estimate or treated as revised valuations of the same accounting without evidence that reconciles the proceedings.
| Report | Figure and currency | What it covered |
|---|---|---|
| UPI, November 1984 | $4.58 million | A newspaper-reported estimate of Burton’s estate, attributed to estate auditors by the Sunday Mirror. |
| UPI, March 1985 | $2.7 million | The estate described in a report on the Bermuda will, which UPI said was settled by the Bermuda Supreme Court in March 1985. |
| Los Angeles Times, May 1985, reporting UPI | £675,000 (approximately $845,000) | The amount shown in a separate British will report. |
The Bermuda report said the bulk of that estate went to Sally Burton and listed allocations for daughters Katherine, Jessica, and Maria; it also reported that Elizabeth Taylor was not included in that will. UPI’s March 1985 report The later British-will figure came from a different jurisdiction and reporting context. Los Angeles Times, May 16, 1985
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Can these figures be turned into a current net-worth estimate?
No defensible present-day net worth follows from these reports alone. They do not provide a consolidated probate accounting that explains how the 1984 estimate relates to the Bermuda and British will figures. Nor do they establish Burton’s lifetime earnings or a current valuation of his assets. An inflation conversion would be a calculation applied to a historical reported amount, not a new valuation of his estate, and the reports themselves do not supply one.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about Burton beyond the estate reports?
For biographical and archival context, Swansea University Archives describes its Richard Burton Collection as containing diaries, correspondence, photographs, scripts, press cuttings, recordings, a personal library, and other materials. That catalogue description is valuable for understanding the documentary record of Burton’s life, but it does not establish the value of his estate. Swansea University Archives: Richard Burton Collection
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