Legendary film star Kirk Douglas leaves brunt of his $61M fortune to charity

Kirk Douglas, Hollywood tough-guy actor and one of the last actors from tinsel town’s golden age, died at the tender age of 103 on February 5.  Douglas was a tough guy in real life too.  He suffered an almost debilitating stroke in 1996 – but still continued to make public appearances and speeches in his later years.

Yesterday, components of Douglas’ Last Will and Testament were made public.  According to The Mirror and MSN:

the legendary actor had a $61 million fortune when he passed on Feb. 5, and he’s giving the bulk of the money — about $50 million — to his charity, the Douglas Foundation, which benefits Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, The Kirk and Anne Douglas Childhood Center, and a St. Lawrence University scholarship for underprivileged students, among others.

After leaving that estimated $50 million to charity, approximately $11 million would be remaining.  There haven’t been any details released yet as to where the remainder of those funds would be bequeathed.  Douglas is survived by his wife, Anne, three sons, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; expectations are that some if not all of that $11 million would be going to them. 

Interestingly enough, reports are coming out that Douglas’ famous actor son, Michael, wouldn’t be receiving any of that $11 million.  Michael Douglas, a star in his own right who’s been acting since he was a kid on “The Streets of San Francisco,” and currently starring in Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method” and as Marvel’s Dr. Henry Pym, – the original “Ant Man,” – shouldn’t be hurting for money though. 

Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne founded the Douglas Foundation in 1964.  The Foundation is committed to helping those who might not otherwise be able to help themselves.

The Foundation’s primary focus is improving the education and health, fostering the well-being, and most importantly developing new opportunities for the children who hold our future in their hands. The Douglas Foundation believes its primary obligation is to focus on local needs.

In his youth, poverty was all too familiar to Kirk Douglas, the son of immigrants who migrated from Russia early in the 20th century to seek a better life. Anne Douglas was born into privilege in Hannover, Germany, until the Second World War divided her family and turned privilege into hardship.

(Source: The Douglas Foundation)

Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter