Matthew Perry’s estate: Inside the ‘Friends’ star’s fortune, inheritance scenarios

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Matthew Perry has earned an impressive amount of money over the decades in Hollywood.

From starring in “Friends” to writing one of the most successful television shows of all time, All Memoirs, the beloved actor had a stellar career until his death.

Perry died Oct. 28 after apparently drowning in a hot tub at his home in the Pacific Palisades area of ​​Los Angeles, law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. He was 54 years old.

Matthew Perry’s ‘Friends’ co-stars come together for the late actor’s funeral

Matthew Perry.

Matthew Perry died on October 28 at the age of 54. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

The “Friends” actor’s place of death was listed as his home. His case status remains open.

Perry’s cause of death has been deferred by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, leaving a grieving public wondering what happened to the beloved star.

The fate and future of Perry’s estate is still being determined. Here’s a look at Perry’s career and impressive earnings.

Hollywood mourns Matthew Perry’s death: ‘The world will miss you’

Perry rose to fame after starring on “Friends” for 10 seasons. The hit show aired from 1994 to 2004, and while each cast member was paid $1 million per episode in the last few years of its run, they continued to earn millions annually in syndication.

Perry and co-stars Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow were each earning $20 million a year in syndication revenue from Warner Bros. for their roles on “Friends” as of 2018, and the number is reportedly It was more than that. After the show was picked up again by Netflix, according to Marketplace.

The cast of Friends in the 1995 picture

(L-R): Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribiani and Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffet in “Friends,” 1995. . (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUuniversal via Getty Images/Getty Images)

The six actors had a deal that paid them 2% of syndication revenue each from “Friends,” at a time when Warner Bros. was raking in $1 billion a year from streaming the show, the outlet reported.

Perry, born in Massachusetts and raised in Canada, was 24 when he began portraying Chandler Bing on “Friends.”

Despite being one of the top actors in the ’90s, Perry struggled with substance abuse during the height of her fame.

Matthew Perry, the ‘Friends’ cast earned millions every year from the show’s residuals

“I could handle it, but when I was 34, I really got into a lot of trouble,” he admitted, according to People.

“But there were years that I was very sober during that. Season 9 was the year I was sober all the way through. And guess what season I got nominated for best actor? I was like, ‘That’s it. I must tell you something.’ “

Matthew Perry in 2022

The actor notably earned more than $1 million an episode for the final season of “Friends,” but spent more than $9 million on his addiction battle. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for GQ/Getty Images)

Perry reportedly spent more than $9 million on his decades-long battle with substance abuse and sobriety. At one point, he was taking 55 Vicodin a day, he wrote in his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Greatest Thing.”

He revealed that he has completed 15 stints in rehab and undergone 14 surgeries for addiction-related medical problems.

Writing memoirs was part of his recovery. She said that the emotions came out of me – the painful things, the hospital, the rehab, all of it – it just came out of me. It went really fast.

Matthew Perry’s cause of death ‘deferred’: Corner

After “Friends” ended and before Perry wrote his barely-there memoir, he continued to find success in television by starring in other popular shows.

In 2003, Perry received her second Emmy nomination for a guest appearance on “The West Wing.” In 2007, he was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance in “The Ron Clark Story,” which follows a small-town teacher who transfers to a rough school.

The “Friends” cast reunites for a special in 2021.

Friends cast

The “Friends” cast was reportedly offered $1 million each but negotiated up to $2.5 million for the reunion special. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

According to Variety, each cast member made $2.5 million for Nostalgia.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the “Friends” cast members were reportedly offered $1 million each, but negotiated down to $2.5 million.

After Perry’s death, her memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Biggest Scary Thing,” broke records and took over the No. 1 spot on Amazon’s best-seller list. His book was an instant New York Times bestseller upon its initial release last November.

The Matthew Perry Foundation has also been launched in his honour. The charity was set up to help those struggling with addiction, something that was very important to Perry.

Memoir of Matthew Perry

After Perry’s tragic death, her memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” broke records and took over the No. 1 spot on Amazon’s best-seller list. (Flatiron Books/Amazon/Fox News)

While the actor led a famous but tumultuous life, he never married or had children. Hence, many are wondering who will inherit his huge fortune.

“He makes about $20 million a year in residuals, the whole cast makes it,” entertainment lawyer Trey Lovell told Entertainment Tonight, “and that will continue as long as the shows keep running.”

“After one’s death the residue continues. It is like a duty that is paid to the actor and continues to his heirs.”

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Matthew Perry in 2015

Matthew Perry’s cause of death has not been released. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

“There will be a nominee who will determine where Perry’s royalties go for the foreseeable future,” Lovell explained.

“Given the fact that he doesn’t have a spouse or children, that would go to his parents as well,” Lovell added. “It is most likely that each biological parent will receive half of the estate.”

Perry previously revealed that he would trade his fame and fortune to escape his battle with addiction.

“The fact that I would trade it all to not have this disease,” he told PEOPLE in a 2022 interview. “But I don’t underestimate how much fun the experience was on ‘Friends.’ And the money was amazing. Just the creative experience of being on the show probably saved my life.”

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“When you’re making a million dollars a week, you can’t have that 37th drink. You’ve got to go home and sleep. . . . It was the greatest job in the world.”

Fox Business’ Break Drums and Tracy Wright contributed to this report.

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