Here's Who Inherited Desi Arnaz's Money After He Died

The legacy of "I Love Lucy" is undeniable. Lighting up screens from 1951 to 1957, it reigned as the most-watched show in America for four of its six seasons. The classic sitcom transformed the landscape of television, breaking cultural barriers on-screen while introducing groundbreaking innovations in film techniques off-screen. Starring 1950s power couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the show centered on the slapstick antics of a zany redhead vying for the spotlight next to her famous bandleader husband, stealing hearts around the world for decades to come.

Though Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's real-life marriage fizzled out after 20 years, the impact of the show they created together followed them to their respective deathbeds and beyond. Not only were they the first millionaires in television history, but the beloved pair also continued to rack up impressive net worths long after "I Love Lucy" originally aired. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ball was worth $60 million (around $125 million in today's dollars) at the time of her death in 1989. Her second husband, Gary Morton, and her two children, Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill and Desi Arnaz Jr., inherited her money after she died. But what became of Arnaz's fortune? Without a spouse to inherit his estate (after losing his second wife to cancer a year before his tragic death in 1986), the Cuban-American icon left his money to his mother and children.

Desi Arnaz (whose full name is Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III) was born March 2, 1917, into a wealthy family in Santiago, Cuba. Forced out during the Cuban Revolution of 1933, his family was stripped of their wealth and immigrated to Miami. It was then that young Arnaz began pursuing his passion for music, forging a path in the entertainment industry by forming the Desi Arnaz Orchestra in the late 1930s. Later going on to play Cuban-American bandleader Ricky Ricardo on "I Love Lucy," his character mirrored his real-life story and earned him $4,000 per episode (which he split with Lucille Ball, his TV and real-life wife).

Though Arnaz's net worth at the time of his death wasn't quite as high as his former red-headed counterpart's, the king of the conga definitely drummed up quite a fortune in his lifetime. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he was worth $20 million at the time of his death, which would be closer to $58 million today when factoring in inflation. After Arnaz tragically died from lung cancer on December 2, 1986, at the age of 69, $250,000 of his estate went to his mother, Dolores "Lolita" de Acha, who outlived him by just two years. The remainder of his money was divided between the two children he shared with Ball, Lucie and Desi Jr.

While much of Desi Arnaz's fortune came from "I Love Lucy," his net worth continued to grow after the show ended. In 1957, on the heels of their half-hour sitcom's success, Arnaz and Ball bought RKO Studios and signed a lucrative $2.5 million deal to star in "The Lucy and Desi Comedy Hour." The highly successful spin-off was originally comprised of five episodes but was ultimately extended to 13. Following their high-profile divorce in 1960, the duo worked together on "The Lucy Show," with Ball starring as the lead and Arnaz directing behind the camera. In 1962, while Ball steamed full speed ahead in her television career, Arnaz stepped back from the industry, selling his shares of their independent production company, Desilu Studios, to Ball for $2.5 million (per Entrepreneur).

Even with his Desilu days in the rearview, Arnaz continued to receive a substantial cash flow from reruns (a phenomenon that he helped pioneer by initiating the practice of recording the show on 35mm film). Though the exact amount he made from reruns isn't publicized, the Los Angeles Times reported that "I Love Lucy" was raking in $20 million a year as of 2012. In addition to rerun income, merchandise deals struck after the birth of Desi Arnaz Jr. in 1953 beefed up his net worth even more. Gracing the cover of the very first TV Guide on April 3, 1953, the lucrative newborn was dubbed "Lucy's $50 Million Baby." Of course, regardless of how much Arnaz made in his lifetime or who inherited it, the indelible impact he made on the television industry is priceless.