It’s been more than five years since we lost showbiz icon and Strictly Come Dancing host Sir Bruce Forsyth.
The star passed away in August 2017 after stepping back from the spotlight, confirming all his years in front of the camera had “taken their toll”.
The star spent five days in intensive care with a chest infection in the last year of his life, before he died just a few months later when his family announced he had contracted bronchial pneumonia.
READ MORE: Shirley Ballas’ glam snaps – thigh-split, leopard print and skimpy swimsuit
He left behind his widow Wilnelia – his third wife, who was 30 years his junior – and six children.
But Bruce made headlines once again when his will revealed none of his children were included in his will.
Kids ‘missed out on’ will
(Image: Getty Images)
Bruce left behind an eye-watering £11.7million fortune in his will – but reports claimed none of it went to his kids.
However, it appears the star simply played his cards right after comments he made regarding inheritance tax.
If he’d left his fortune to his six children, 40% of the cash exceeding the inheritance tax threshold would have gone straight to HMRC – and the threshold is £325,000 for a single person.
Instead, Bruce reportedly went ahead and left £11.5million of his cash to his widow, Lady Wilnelia Merced.
Two years after his death, she also called time on the business Bruce left behind, allegedly worth £4.5million.
(Image: Getty Images)
On that cash, she would have paid no inheritance tax.
Upon Bruce’s death, it was reported each of his six children – Debbie, Julie, Laura, Charlotte, louisa and Jonathan Joseph – would get nothing, while his nine grandkids would receive £100,000 to split between them.
A further two payments of £20,000 went to his executors.
Before his death, Bruce had commented to RadioTimes: “I think your inheritance should go to your children more than back to the country that you’ve lived in.
“I’m not saying you don’t owe the country something, of course you owe your country a lot for living there all those years. But I think it can be a bit over the top.”
Widow’s £5million mansion
(Image: Getty Images Europe)
In 2020, Bruce’s widow Wilnelia “quietly sold” the couple’s Wentworth Estate home in Surrey just before lockdown, reportedly securing a sale price of £5.5million, according to MailOnline.
That’s £1.5million more than it was valued at in 2018, the year after Bruce’s death.
She explained to the Mail: “It was hard to leave a place with so many happy memories for me and my family, but I think they all understand.
“It was sometimes sad to be in such a home without Bruce.”
(Image: Daily Mirror)
While her pal added to the publication: “It was a stroke of luck that Wilnelia managed to sell it before the crisis hit, because the market’s plunged since then.
“The price was impressive because the house was actually not that big, and very dated. It will almost certainly be demolished by its new owners and a mega-mansion built in its place. That’s what happens round here.”
She later moved into another £5million home, a smaller house close to their former mansion.
Lavish cars
(Image: PA)
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
Throughout his lifetime, it’s no surprise that Brucie had some pretty lavish possessions.
That included a 1991 Bentley Eight saloon car, which had an original price tag of £50,000.
He also owned a Mercedes Benz E320, which is thought to have been put up for sale just after the star became unwell.
READ NEXT:
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
