How INXS star Michael Hutchence died bankrupt despite owning a $20 million property empire – realestate.com.au

He was a rock icon worth an estimated $20 million in real estate, cash and investments.

But when Michael Hutchence died on November 22, 1997, he ran out of money.

The singer, who was found dead in his Sydney hotel room aged 37, left behind a complicated mess of money and property.

At the time of his death, the INXS frontman had just $506 in cash and $572 as his share of the band’s bank balance.

The properties Hutchence owned in London, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Australia were in fact owned by different companies. The sun reports.

Australian investigators discovered that companies called Nexcess, Nextcircle and Leaguework controlled some of his properties in 2005. It is unclear who is behind these companies and whether they are still active.

This complex web proved frustrating for the musician’s sister Tina, who told The Sun: “People who set these things up aren’t people who live in one place, they move around.

“So it’s not like we can deliver papers. Nobody has a number.”

Hutchence’s daughter, Tiger Lily, was at one point living ‘in a squat in London’ after missing out on her father’s fortune.

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Where has the money gone? Here you can take a closer look at how Hutchence lost his fortune and what happened to his houses.

What happened to Michael Hutchence’s millions?

The Australian singer has remained a money machine in the years since his death thanks to royalties from his band’s 55 million records sold worldwide. He was credited as a writer on many INXS songs.

But the man in charge of Hutchence’s accounts, Colin Diamond, claimed the hitmaker’s wealth was being eaten up by parties, gifts and huge legal bills.

However, the 2017 Paradise Papers leak revealed that the tax lawyer, Tiger Lily’s godfather, was the “beneficial owner” of the music and image rights – and behind two of the many offshore companies in which the rocker’s assets are tied up.

According to the documents, he established a company called Helipad Plain in Mauritius in 2015 for the “commercial exploitation of the sound recordings, images, films and related materials embodying the achievements of Michael Hutchence”.

Another of his firms is Virgin Islands-based Chardonnay Investments, which in 2010 sued the remaining members of INXS for alleged underpayment of royalties earned since Hutchence’s death in 1997. The case was settled out of court.

Hutchence was credited as a writer on many INXS songs. Photo: Ross Marino/Getty Images

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Michael Hutchence’s will

The music star’s advisers said the situation is exactly what Hutchence would have wanted, claiming he did not want his ‘thieving relatives’ and ‘girlfriends’ to get his fortune.

This was in breach of Hutchence’s will, which left half of his estate to Tiger Lily, with the remainder divided equally between his partner Paula Yates and his mother Patricia, father Kel, brother Rhett and sister Tina.

There were also two donations of $250,000 to Amnesty International and Greenpeace. These were never received.

Documentary maker Richard Lowenstein spoke to Tiger Lily in 2019, where she laughed at him when he said ‘maybe it’s [Hutchence’s estate] I’m still coming to you.”

Tiger Lily told him that she had “given up on that now. It’s literally gone.”

Speaking with the Herald Sunhe added: “I met Tiger for dinner in London. We went to her flat to watch the documentary and it was like a little squat.

“I said, ‘Where’s the money from your father’s estate?’ and she said, ‘I’ve never received anything from anyone. I once had an appointment with an accountant and it was so bad that I didn’t want to do it again.”

When Tiger Lily previously met her late father’s accountant, he reportedly handed her an envelope containing £500 ($A1,000) and told her: “Here you go, that will help you.”

Half of Hutchence’s estate was left to his daughter by Tiger Lily.

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Hutchence’s mother Patricia said she received “a few small bowls, some prizes and a large poster of Brigitte Bardot in And God Created Woman”.

Rhett and Tina were told by Diamond that royalties and all future income from INXS were not part of his estate.

Tina said the family was most concerned about whether Tiger Lily would ever see any of what they believe is the promised legacy.

She told The Sun: “The idea was to look after the child. Over the years the royalties add up quickly. That’s why Michael was able to buy a million dollar property here for cash, and another there for a million dollar cash.”

Michael with his siblings Tina and Rhett Hutchence. Image: Supplied / Tina Hutchence

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What happened to Michael Hutchence’s property?

The family discovered that three properties on the Gold Coast, a luxury waterfront mansion on the island of Capri, a villa in France, a house in London, an Indonesian development and numerous other assets were not his.

According to the Gold Coast Bulletinthe New Sensation singer’s Gold Coast property portfolio was valued at more than $5 million at the time of his death, although its value at the time his estate was settled in 2005 was more than $10 million.

Hutchence’s house in South London.

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Isle of Capri, the Gold Coast residence on the Nerang River, which belonged to Hutchence.

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The house on the island of Capri was put on the market but passed up at auction.

Five weeks later it was withdrawn from sale entirely due to a dispute over the singer’s estate. The legal battle lasted almost ten years.

Hutchence’s French villa was later bought by U2’s bassist Adam Clayton.

Other real estate, guitars, art, a Harley-Davidson and a Jeep were sold by his estate to cover legal costs.

Parts of this story first appeared in The sun and was republished with permission.

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