David Bowie leaves $1 million in will for wife and children

The Guardian

His wife, Iman, and his two children were left with an estate of around $100m, and his will stipulated that he be cremated and his ashes scattered in Bali

David Bowie left an estate of around $100m to his wife, Iman, and his two children, and stipulated that he be cremated and his ashes scattered in Bali, according to his will.

The document, filed on Friday afternoon in a New York courthouse, also left $2m to his long-standing assistant Corinne Schwab and $1m to Marion Skene, a friend of Bowie’s and the nanny to his eldest child, according to the New York Daily News.

As well as a 25% share in the estate, Bowie left a property on Little Tonshi Mountain, near Woodstock, to his and Iman’s 15-year-old daughter Alexandria. Duncan Jones, Bowie’s 44-year-old son from his previous marriage to Angela Barnett, also received 25%.

Bowie sold 140m records during a career spanning more than half a century, and also made an estimated $55m from selling so-called “Bowie bonds” – basically turning his royalties into financial instruments.

The remaining 50% of the estate goes to Iman, as well as all his other properties, including their apartment on Lafayette Street in Manhattan, according to the Daily News.

Bowie died of liver cancer on 10 January, two days after his 69th birthday. His last album, Blackstar, was released the same day.

His death caused an international outpouring of grief. Bowie’s music skyrocketed on the music streaming service Spotify, putting Life on Mars, Heroes, Let’s Dance and Blackstar, the latter from his newest and final album, all into the site’s top-10 chart within 24 hours of the announcement of his death.

A galaxy of celebrities – including Joel Madden, Kanye West, Madonna, One Direction’s Harry Styles, Iggy Pop, Sir Paul McCartney, Ricky Gervais, Brian Eno, Kiss’ Gene Simmons and Lorde, among many others – paid heartfelt tribute to Bowie. Annie Lennox wrote a poem for him.

In Brixton, in south London, where Bowie was born in 1947, hundreds of fans gathered for a mass sing-along. Tribute concerts in London and New York have scheduled memorial concerts. In Soho, New York, near where Bowie and Iman lived, fans gathered to lay candles and flowers.

In accordance with Bowie’s wishes, there was no funeral held for him. Instead, his close family scattered his ashes following a Buddhist ceremony on the Indonesian island of Bali.