Here's What Alex Trebek Did With All His Money

Legendary game show host Alex Trebek died on November 8, 2020 at the age of 80, per Associated Press. A year-and-a-half before his death, the "Jeopardy!" host publicly revealed a major health issue when he announced that he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer (via Global News). The stunning news shocked many, and because of the grim survival rate of his illness, it left a lot of uncertainty as to whether Trebek could beat the odds. He did eventually start receiving immunotherapy treatment and regularly gave health updates to his viewers, particularly a hopeful one in July of 2020 when he shared that things were "paying off," per NBC.

But at one point after his diagnosis, Trebek stated that he would've stopped treatment if it didn't work. It was a feeling he shared in his book "The Answer Is ... Reflections on My Life," due to experiencing some symptoms. But Trebek clarified that after the book was complete, his views changed and he would've continued another treatment if the one he was on didn't work, per Good Housekeeping. Through it all, Trebek continued to appear on episodes of "Jeopardy!," the game show he hosted for 36 years. He filmed his last episode of the show a week before his death (via Fortune).

Trebek was survived by his wife Jean (pictured with him, above), and their son and daughter, Matthew and Emily. He also has a stepdaughter, Nicky, from his first marriage to Elaine Callei (via Audacy). After his death, the final decision-making was left up to his wife. His final resting place is at the home he shared with his wife. Per Entertainment Tonight, he was cremated, and his ashes sit inside his house in Studio City, California.

It's unclear what Trebek decided in terms of distributing his assets after his death, but in his lifetime, Trebek was a notable philanthropist. He had an estimated net worth of $75 million at the time of his death (Celebrity Net Worth), and as noted in Fox Business, Trebek regularly donated to charities that addressed child hunger. Trebek was especially involved for decades with an organization called World Vision, described as a "Christian humanitarian" effort working in 100 countries worldwide. He supported the organization financially, but also filmed personal appeals on behalf of their work. In addition, it's known that Trebek donated land that he owned near Los Angeles so a park could be created. The greenspace is 62 acres and is named after Trebek (via MCRA).