Here's Who Inherited Little Richard's Money After He Died

Dubbed the "Architect of Rock 'n' Roll," Little Richard broke ground in the 1950s not only for his wild energy and explosive piano playing — but for crossing over between audiences of all races and backgrounds. Even to this day, there isn't a person alive who wouldn't feel the need to jump up and bop around to his boogie-woogie and blues-inspired hits, "Tutti Frutti," "Good Golly, Miss Molly," "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)," and more. Amongst other honors, in 1986 Little Richard was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; in 2003 he joined the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. 

When such a prominent, history-making musician dies — as Little Richard did of bone cancer in 2020 at the age of 87 — folks are sometimes left wondering what's going to happen to his lifetime-acquired wealth. Little Richard sold 30 million albums over his many decades of performance, played to sold-out crowds, appeared on TV shows and movies, heard his music used in video games and cartoons, and had other assets like a $1.3-million hilltop estate in Lynchburg, Tennessee. His net worth at the time of his death equaled about $40 million.

But even at this point we don't know for certain how his wealth was distributed after his death; all sources speak in speculative, future-tense terms. By all accounts, though, it seems like Richard's adopted son, Danny Penniman, received a majority of the fortune. Some likely went to churches or charitable organizations.

All reports indicate that Little Richard — born Richard Wayne Penniman in 1932 — maintained a good relationship with his son, Danny Penniman. Richard adopted Danny in 1984 when Danny was 14 years old after befriending Danny's mother, Creola Jones. The two knew each other through church, and Little Richard became a constant, supporting presence in the family home. When Jones asked Richard if he could take Danny in, the two shook on it, and that was that. Danny speaks well of Little Richard, telling Rolling Stone he "would just always encourage me." 

This story becomes extra meaningful when thinking of Little Richard's fortune because Richard had 11 brothers and sisters and a host of other family. While it's unclear which of these individuals were alive when Little Richard passed away, none of them come up in reports regarding who received Richard's inheritance. This shouldn't necessarily be surprising, though, because sources like Welch Law describe Little Richard as "a private person" who in his latter years lived a personal life far different from his stage persona. 

Even if Danny received most of Little Richard's fortune, he could have received much more if Little Richard was as savvy about his business dealings as he was his music. Little Richard traded the property rights for his music to Sony in exchange for cash settlements, meaning that Danny won't receive royalties for Richard's music.

While we don't know for sure, sources indicate that Little Richard gave some of his money to a church, multiple churches, church-related organizations, etc. This is almost certainly the case, as Little Richard developed a potent, but on-again, off-again relationship with Christianity his entire life. As Spectrum Magazine explains, his mother was an ardent Christian and member of New Hope Baptist Church in their hometown of Macon, Georgia, and passed along her faith to her son however she could.

In Little Richard's own life, he actually quit rock 'n' roll in 1957 to make a gospel album, "King Of The Gospel Singers," before dropping back into the secular. He also attended Oakwood College in Alabama, a Seventh-Day Adventist organization, although he never graduated. Add to this personal struggles with being gay, a history of using LSD, heroin, PCP, and "blowing $1000 of cocaine a day" (per Business Insider), and "all these orgies going on" (per Religion News), and you've got a recipe for inner conflict meets poor money management. 

Sites like Wealth Advisor speculate that Little Richard at least left "a piece" of his fortune to some kind of religious organization. Much like the rest of his money, there's no way to say how much or what percentage. That being said, it makes sense that Little Richard would have chosen to pass any church-related money to a Seventh-Day Adventist Organization, as this is the branch of Christianity to which he clung most tightly.