# What did Anthony Bourdain do with his wealth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881 "2018-09-25T12:53:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/1 "2018-09-25T12:53:45Z")
At the time of Anthony Bourdain’s death, [his net worth was approximately $1.2M](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anthony-bourdains-will-reveals-net-worth-of-1-2m/). This is surprisingly little for a 61YO celebrity who has authored a number of books and been the star of top-rated TV shows for well over a decade. I assume the costs of his extensive travel for his TV shows were borne by the networks that aired them, i.e. CNN and the Travel Channel. I also assume that his work generated substantial income for him over the past couple of decades. I admit that either or both of those assumptions could be wrong. But assuming they’re right, what did Bourdain do with the rest of his wealth? Charitable giving? Ill-advised investments? Frivolous luxury? ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/2 "2018-09-25T13:02:43Z")
Probably a fair bit of the money he made disappeared up his nose or into his veins. Bourdain struggled with both alcohol and drug abuse issues for most of his life, which are both costly and lead to poor money decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/3 "2018-09-25T13:03:02Z")
I believe I read that a lot of his assets were put into various trusts, per his wishes. Doubtless someone more knowledgeable about the specifics will be along soon. But the overall result is that he definitely was far from poor, despite a mere $1.2 million in his direct possession. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/4 "2018-09-25T13:24:40Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > Probably a fair bit of the money he made disappeared up his nose or into his veins. Bourdain struggled with both alcohol and drug abuse issues for most of his life, which are both costly and lead to poor money decisions. There were no drugs in his system at the time of his death. He reportedly had been off hard drugs since the 1980s, so vein and nose insinuations unlikely. Although he never gave up alcohol and possibly marijuana, he had given up smoking in 2007. I think you might be overestimating how rich he might have been. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/5 "2018-09-25T13:25:38Z")
Well, if you read the article almost half of that wasn’t really “in his direct possession”. $500k is royalties and residuals. He should have been able to leverage his fame into some real money but I don’t think you should assume you get rich hosting a Travel Channel show, even a “successful” one. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/6 "2018-09-25T13:44:20Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > He should have been able to leverage his fame into some real money but I don’t think you should assume you get rich hosting a Travel Channel show, even a “successful” one. I got the impression from things I have read that he was more interested in doing what he wanted more than getting the “biggest buck for his bang”. The freedom was more behind his various moves than anything else and in television that usually means less money in your pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/7 "2018-09-25T13:53:00Z")
That does seem low. Shoot, upper middle class people who own a home in San Francisco have more net worth than that. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/8 "2018-09-25T14:08:50Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > That does seem low. > > Shoot, upper middle class people who own a home in San Francisco have more net worth than that. Remember that it isn’t necessarily his total net worth. It’s the amount he left in trust for his daughter. He might have had some more wealth in property. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/9 "2018-09-25T14:15:01Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > That does seem low. > > Shoot, upper middle class people who own a home in San Francisco have more net worth than that. At this point in time, I don’t think you can consider a person who owns a home in SF “middle class”. I think a lot of people overestimate the wealth of minor celebrities. I see no reason why Bourdain should be a multimillionaire. He had a couple of moderately successful shows on basic cable? A few moderately successful nonfiction books? Stretched over the last 25 years? Frankly a $1.2 million net worth seems about right to me. Hopefully he didn’t struggle too hard to pay the bills. That’s about the best I’d expect from someone of his stature. He’s not Elton John. In a career path where the vast majority languish in minimum wage jobs while wallowing in major debt, eking out a solid middle class life (that includes a lot of travel) with a ~million dollar retirement nest egg is pretty much hitting the lottery. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/10 "2018-09-25T14:28:39Z")
Ditto **DrCube**. Plus, looking at [this article I picked randomly from the internet](https://money.cnn.com/2014/06/11/news/economy/middle-class-wealth/index.html), 1.2M net worth is well above average. And, even adjusting for age (which is probably more relevant anyway) [he’s in the 85th percentile](https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calculator-united-states/). That seems just about right to me. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/11 "2018-09-25T14:30:23Z")
He did host and get an EP credit on “The Taste”, which was a 3 season major network show. That should have made him some decent money. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/12 "2018-09-25T14:55:00Z")
I was surprised to read in the Wikipedia biography of [Phil Hartman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Hartman#Death) that his estate was worth “only” $1.23 million and that seemed similarly low to me. And Phil Hartman was on News Radio, The Simpsons and SNL in addition to some movies. So I thought he should have had more money as well as Bourdain. But perhaps both men had assets in trusts? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/13 "2018-09-25T16:17:52Z")
[Here is an analysis](https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/richest-celebrity-chefs/anthony-bourdain-net-worth/) that claims the $1.2M figure is misleading. I do not know how accurate this analysis is, but it seems rational. > [@](#): > > A news article circulated in July 2018 claiming Anthony was only worth $1.2 million at the time of his death. What this report did not say is that their number only included assets in his checking and a single brokerage account. It did not include real estate, or assets held in trust. For example, in 2014 Anthony paid $3.35 million for an apartment in NYC. Today that apartment is worth approximately $5 million. According to public bank records, Anthony had $1 million worth of mortgages at the time of his death. More importantly, a closer look at Bourdain’s will shows that he created a trust in 2016 that held the majority of his assets (image rights, future income, royalties). His will dictates that the beneficiary of this trust is his daughter. Wealthy people often use trusts that are completely separate from their wills, partly for privacy but mainly for tax advantages. We maintain that Anthony’s net worth was significantly higher than the erroneously reported $1.2 million. Much closer to $16 million based on the information we’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-anthony-bourdain-do-with-his-wealth/821881/14 "2018-09-25T16:23:03Z")
Thanks for clearing that up.