When David Bowie passed away in 2016, the tragic news left a huge hole in the music world.
The rock ‘n’ roll legend passed away just two days after his 69th birthday following a secret 18-month battle with liver cancer.
At the time of his death, the Grammy winner was worth approximately $100 million, including a vast collection of properties.
Here’s a look at the homes Bowie owned and who inherited his estate.
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David Bowie died in 2016 after a secret 18-month battle with liver cancer. Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
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David Bowie performing with his alter ego Ziggy Stardust in 1973. Photo: Michael Putland/Getty Images
David Bowie’s secret Australian home
In 1983, Bowie bought a three-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for $700,000.
Located in Elizabeth Bay, the Rebel Rebel hitmaker had used the pied a terre as his Sydney base for his month-long travels to far north Queensland and the outback in the 1980s.
When the singer owned the house, it was said to be as ‘out there’ and ‘bizarre’ as the late music superstar himself.
Apparently, Bowie had installed wall-to-ceiling mirrors in the living room and a chest-high glass shelf ran around much of the apartment’s main areas.
The music star cleared the apartment in 1992 for $1,250,000.
The house, within walking distance of old Kings Cross, last sold in 2023 for $8.8 million.
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In 1983, Bowie bought a three-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for $700,000.
The music star cleared the apartment in 1992 for $1,250,000.
What happened to David Bowie’s other properties?
The musician’s real estate portfolio included properties in Switzerland, the Caribbean and America.
Bowie and his supermodel wife Iman bought two penthouses in New York for $4 million in 1999 and combined them into a loft.
This was where the couple lived at the time of Bowie’s death.
The Labyrinth actor bought a fourteen-room estate in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1982.
He sold the property in 1999 for £2.5 million ($A5 million), apparently because Iman did not like the quiet Swiss life.
The same year, the flamboyant rocker also sold a property in Los Angeles for an estimated £5 million ($A10 million), according to the Daily Mail.
The Labyrinth actor bought a 14-room estate in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1982. Photo: supplied
The Let’s Dance singer owned a 5-bedroom Caribbean villa on the island of Mustique.
Bowie, known as Mandalay Estate, had the house built for him in 1989. He sold it in 1995 for $5 million.
In recent years the property has been available to rent for $US40,000 ($A60,000) to $US70,000 ($A105,000) per week.
The Let’s Dance singer owned a 5-bedroom Caribbean villa on the island of Mustique. Image: supplied
In 2011, Bowie and Iman secretly bought a three-bedroom house in Upstate New York for $1.98 million.
The family later renovated the house and added two more bedrooms and bathrooms, along with large windows to show off the beautiful views.
“They intended it to be their forever home, the place where they would stay when they were old and gray,” said model, activist and friend of Iman Bethann Hardison. Vogue in 2021.
Bowie and Iman renovated the house in Upstate New York, adding two more bedrooms and bathrooms. Image: Instagram
Who inherited David Bowie’s estate?
According to his will, Bowie directed that his assets and money be divided among his wife, his two children, Duncan Jones and Lexi Zahra Jones, a personal assistant and a former nanny.
Iman received about half of his fortune, plus the couple’s apartment on Lafayette Street in Manhattan. Page six reports.
She received an estimated $50 million payout, administered by two of Bowie’s lawyers. He instructed his lawyers to pay his wife income from the trust four times a year.
Iman could ask for additional money to support her “health, education and maintenance,” the will specified.
Bowie’s wife Iman received about half of his fortune when he died. Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images
Bowie’s son Duncan received a quarter of his father’s estate. Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
Bowie’s son Duncan, whose mother is actress Angela Barnett, received about US$25 million ($37 million), a quarter of his father’s estate.
Like her half-brother, Bowie’s daughter Lexi with Iman also inherited 25 percent of his assets, which were held in trust until she was 25.
Lexi was given her father’s vacation home on Little Tonshi Mountain in upstate New York.
Bowie also splashed out a few million dollars for his favorite domestic workers.
Marion Skene of Switzerland, Duncan’s nanny, won a hefty $1.5 million payout.
Friend and personal assistant Corinne Coco Schwab of Manhattan, whom he named his daughter’s guardian in case her mother died before she turned 18, received $2 million.
In January 2022, Bowie’s estate sold his publishing catalog to Warner Chappell for $250 million ($A375 million).
The deal includes more than six decades of music, 26 studio albums released during his lifetime, one album released posthumously and approximately 400 songs.
Parts of this story first appeared in Page six and was republished with permission.
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