Here's Who Inherited Muhammad Ali's Money After He Died - Grunge (2024)

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Here's Who Inherited Muhammad Ali's Money After He Died - Grunge (1)

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Muhammad Ali, heavyweight boxing champion, was always more than an athlete. He was a legend, a daring tactician and risk-taker in the ring and a crowing, rhyming, charming, sometimes bloviating, permanently public fixture of American popular culture. The self-crowned greatest of the great, Ali seemed to love bad press as much as adoration, and he often attracted both. He converted to the controversial Nation of Islam in 1964, an organization so notorious that even Martin Luther King Jr. criticized him for it, as the Los Angeles Sentinel recounts. Two years later he refused to fight in the Vietnam War, which he considered unjust; as a result, he was fined, sentenced to prison (though he didn't serve time as his case was appealed), and stripped of his boxing license and his title, just at the peak of his career (per The Atlantic).

Ali's personal life crashed and soared in tandem. He married four times, twice in the 1960s. His first engagement lasted only a month, and the marriage itself only two years. He had nine children, according to Bustle. Nine kids may not be too many, if you have the money and space to raise them. But all of those heirs in an inheritance dispute is another story.

Contested inheritance

Here's Who Inherited Muhammad Ali's Money After He Died - Grunge (2)

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Ali suffered from Parkinson's disease, possibly provoked by decades of blows to the head. Various other illnesses followed, and in 2016 the great fighter succumbed to sepsis at his Arizona home, aged 74.

As the Daily Mail reported, rumors quickly spread that Ali's nine children were "at war" over his estate. None of the details of Ali's will are public, but it seems his estate was worth $80 million in total; each child was due to receive $6 million. But what about Ali's widow and legal executor, Lonnie Ali? According to the rumors, Lonnie received $12 million, allegedly enraging her stepchildren. (Per The Guardian, Lonnie Ali is the adoptive mother of one of the nine children; the rest were born during his previous marriages.) The rumors allege that the revelation of Lonnie's double share was the last straw for the already strained Ali clan, where old tensions between step-siblings have never slackened.

Mayrum Ali, the fighter's firstborn, disputes this. "My father raised me and my siblings to love each other and that is exactly who we are," she told the Mail. "We are not in any feuds with each other or with our stepmother."

A fraught family

Here's Who Inherited Muhammad Ali's Money After He Died - Grunge (3)

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There's no reason to doubt that Mayrum is right about her father teaching his children to love each other. But Muhammad Ali's family life was never tranquil. Even before his short, disastrous first marriage, Ali quarreled with his parents over his associations with the Nation of Islam. Nor have his relationships with his children always been peaceable. The most famous of these conflicts was with Laila (above, right), his youngest daughter. As she explained to WBUR, Laila first clashed with Muhammad over religion: "My father was not only disappointed when I told him that I didn't want to be Muslim. He was angry." Laila's own boxing career as a middleweight would also lead to strife, as he believed that women shouldn't box out of principle. Fortunately, when Laila won her first bout in 30 seconds by K.O., her father changed his mind, and came to watch as many of her fights as he could.

Ali's relationship with his son Muhammad Jr. did not resolve itself. Muhammad Jr. told the New York Post that his father was neglectful to the point of abuse, ignoring him, driving off without him, and leaving him to his grandparents to raise. Muhammad Jr. also pointed a finger at Lonnie. "He slipped out of my life the moment he got married to Lonnie," he told the Post. "The trips to see me stopped immediately."

Lonnie Ali

Here's Who Inherited Muhammad Ali's Money After He Died - Grunge (4)

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Lonnie Ali seems like a central character in the story of the Ali family, whether or not the rumors of her $12 million inheritance have any validity. Lonnie Ali is a relatively public figure, a kind of ambassador of her late husband's brand. Her biography, hosted by the website of the Michael J. Fox Foundation (an organization dedicated to Parkinson's research, patronized by the Ali family), reveals that Lonnie was born in Louisville, Kentucky. She was a childhood friend of her future husband, at one point living across the street from him. She earned a BA at Vanderbilt University in 1978. According to the New York Times' account of their marriage, she was 29 in 1986.

She was the champion's fourth wife; he already had nine children. None of this proved any obstacle. Lonnie even converted to Islam ahead of the marriage. In 1992, six years into their marriage, Lonnie became the de facto manager of GOAT, Inc., the company that licenses Ali's image. Eventually she rose to vice president, a position she held until 2006, when GOAT, Inc. was sold. Since 2006, she has managed her husband's philanthropic enterprises. Her relationship with Ali's various children remains, for the most part, a private affair.

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Here's Who Inherited Muhammad Ali's Money After He Died - Grunge (2024)

FAQs

Who did Muhammad Ali give his money to? ›

January 25, 1967. Muhammad Ali became the largest single Black contributor to the treasury of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) by donating $10,000. ($78,000 in 2020 USD). UNCF President Dr.

Where did Muhammad Ali donate money? ›

Daring to go against political policy to help people in need, Muhammad attended goodwill missions in Afghanistan and North Korea; delivered sorely needed medical supplies to an embargoed Cuba; traveled to Iraq and secured the release of 15 United States hostages; and upon Nelson Mandela's release, journeyed to South ...

What was one thing Muhammad Ali did that was important? ›

Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest boxers in history, the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions. In addition, he was known for his social message of black pride and black resistance to white domination and for refusing induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

What was Cassius Clay's real name? ›

Muhammad Ali (/ɑːˈliː/; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "the Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century and is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.

Who owns the rights to Muhammad Ali? ›

The company that owns his rights is the Authentic Brands Group which also owns the rights to boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

Who did Muhammad Ali sell his name to? ›

That year, Ali had sold an 80 percent stake in the right to license his name and brand for $50 million to CKX Inc. In the five years prior to the CKX sale, Ali's intellectual property had earned between $4 million and $7 million a year, according to Michael Ezra, author of Muhammad Ali: The Making of an Icon.

How much money did Muhammad Ali leave when he died? ›

Despite these challenges, Ali's estate was valued at around $80 million at the time of his death. But most of his wealth is tied to real estate and investments. These factors made it difficult for his family to access it easily.

Who bought Muhammad Ali? ›

Authentic Brands Group will assume all of Ali's intellectual property, including what it says is the largest library of photos and videos of the boxer. It also includes trademarks owned by the Ali estate including "Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee," "Thrilla In Manila" and "Greatest Of All Time."

What was Muhammad Ali's net worth? ›

At the time of his death in 2016 at age 74, Ali had an estimated net worth of $80 million, according to Forbes. But at home with his nine children, Ali was simply known as Dad.

How many fights did Ali lose? ›

Boxing career of Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Total fights61
Wins56
Wins by KO37
Losses5
14 more rows

What made Ali so good? ›

Muhammad Ali was the GOAT – The Greatest of All Time. He was a superior athlete known for his distinctive boxing style, hand and foot speed, and powerful punch.

What is Muhammad Ali's nickname? ›

Arguably the world's greatest boxer, Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, took on a befitting nickname – The Greatest, a nickname nobody disputed.

Who said "Sting like a bee"? ›

Muhammad Ali remembered: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Was Muhammad Ali in the WWE? ›

What did Muhammad Ali do with WWE? Although Ali wasn't heavily involved in WWE, he did make three notable appearances at events during his lifetime. The first came in 1976 when after a match between Gorilla Monsoon and Baron Mikel Scicluna, Ali entered the ring and started dancing around Monsoon.

What happened to all of Muhammad Ali's money? ›

After Ali's death, his wife, Lonnie Ali, and his children inherited the bulk of his estate. However, the distribution of his assets was not without controversy. According to the reports, his children got $6 million each, and the rest went to his wife Lonnie Ali.

What did Muhammad Ali give to the world? ›

Ali was a relentless advocate for people in need and a significant humanitarian actor in the developing world, supporting relief and development initiatives and hand-delivering food and medical supplies to hospitals, street children and orphanages in Africa and Asia.

Did Muhammad Ali pay child support? ›

She said Ali paid child support until May 1984 when 'he stopped sending money with no explanation. ' Aaisha also has filed a $2 million palimony suit against Ali in Pennsylvania, alleging he promised to support her for life.

How did Muhammad Ali help the poor? ›

In addition to his international efforts, Muhammad is equally devoted to helping charities at home. He has visited countless numbers of soup kitchens and hospitals, and helped such organizations as the Make-A-Wish-Foundation and the Special Olympics.

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