Hollywood film icon Kirk Douglas died two years ago on February 5th 2020.
His death came as a shock to the entertainment world, with fans and fellow stars paying tribute to the beloved actor.
The news was announced by his Hollywood actor son Michael Douglas, who said in a statement at the time: "To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years.
"A humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to," adding: "But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad."
However following his death, it was later revealed that the actor had left a huge fortune – but many were shocked to reveal who it had and had not been left to.
£45million fortune
Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas was the star of some of the most famous films of all time, including Spartacus.
He was also nominated three times for an Academy Award, for his roles in films including Champion, The Bad And The Beautiful and Lust For Life.
Kirk became one of the silver screen's most renowned actors, with Steven Spielberg saying in a statement following his death: "Kirk retained his movie star charisma right to the end of his wonderful life and I’m honoured to have been a small part of his last 45 years."
It is no surprise then that he amassed a huge fortune from his appearances in over 75 films, leaving a gigantic $61 million (£45m) in his will.
Kirk's late wife Anne Douglas also revealed to USA Today that she had helped him to build up his fortune, by using the business skills she had learnt from her father.
She said after they started dating, "That is when my business education from my father rose to the surface, and I got somebody very knowledgeable about how to invest the salary that he gets when he makes a movie.
"It became a success. Today he is very, very philanthropic."
Kirk Douglas was also quoted as saying in an interview: "I often wonder what would have happened to me if I hadn’t married Anne. I might not have survived without her business acumen and her finely-honed instincts."
The couple were married for more than six decades, but sadly one year after Kirk Douglas' death, Anne died on April 29 2021 aged 102.
Huge charity donations
Kirk Douglas was renowned for his charity work, and set up the Douglas Foundation with his wife Anne in 1964.
The foundation aims to "help those who cannot otherwise help themselves", with a primary focus on "improving education and health" and "developing new opportunities for children."
Following his death, Kirk's will revealed that he had left the majority of his fortune to the foundation, distributing over $50 million dollars to a variety of causes.
These included St Lawrence University, where The Douglas Foundation funds a scholarship for minority and underprivileged students.
He also donated money to Westwood's Sinai Temple, which is the home of the Kirk and Anne Douglas Childhood Center, the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles and the Culver City Kirk Douglas Theatre.
Children left out of will
Despite having a huge fortune, it was revealed that Kirk Douglas had left nothing to his three children Michael, Joel and Peter in his will.
Kirk Douglas had four sons from two marriages – Michael and Joel from his first marriage to Diane Douglas, and then Peter and Eric with Anne Douglas.
However, actor and stand up comedian Eric Douglas died aged 46 on July 6 2004.
Although Kirk's children were not left a share of his fortune, each of his children have gone on to find fame, success and huge net worths of their own.
Peter Douglas is a successful film and TV producer, worth an estimated $15-$20 million.
His half-brother Joel is also a film and TV producer, who worked with brother Michael Douglas on hit Hollywood films including Romancing The Stone and Jewel Of The Nile.
He also produced One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and is worth an estimated $12 million.
The most well known of the Douglas children however is Academy Award winner Michael Douglas, who has starred in films such as Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct and Wall Street.
Throughout the course of his career, he has even surpassed his father's fortune, with a gigantic estimated net worth of $350 million.
Michael Douglas had previously spoken about the tough relationship between him and his father, even refusing to call him dad in an interview with The Associated Press in 2000, saying: "In those key years, when Kirk was doing five movies a year… Kirk was all-consumed, was overworked. Probably like myself at a certain time in my life."
However, the two became closer in Kirk Douglas' later years, and following his death, he paid a loving tribute to his father, saying: "Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true.
"Dad – I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son."
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