HUGH Hefner was married to his third wife Crystal Harris, when he died aged 91 and fans were left wondering how much the Playmate would inherit.
The blue-eyed bombshell sparked a romance with Playboy icon Hef when she entered the controversial mansion and the pair quickly rushed down the aisle.
How long were Crystal and Hugh Hefner married?
Crystal Harris and Hugh tied the knot on New Year’s Eve in 2012 when she was just 26-years-old and he was 60 years her senior.
The Playboy bunny was crowned Playmate of the month in December 2009 and joined the infamous mansion when she was 21.
She lived there for over a decade, however later revealed in her memoir Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself, that she “felt trapped” there.
The pair stayed married until Hefner’s death in 2017 and she opened up about caring for him at the end.
In an interview with CBS she said: “I did care for him. He was getting older and I know he wanted to protect his image and just to be the man that he was to the public.
“I felt sorry for him, in a way, and felt that he really needed me.”
Crystal, now 37, was Hugh’s third wife.
People would say I was a dumb blonde, a fake, a gold digger who didn’t really love Hef.”
Crystal Hefner
He wed Mildred Williams in 1949 and the couple divorced in 1959, as his Playboy empire skyrocketed to fame.
His second spouse, Kimberley Conrad, was a Playboy Playmate and they got hitched in 1989 before divorcing in 2010 once their youngest child turned 18 after an 11 year separation.
The Playboy founder has been linked to multiple high-profile Bunnies including Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson.
He has four children, Christie, 64 and David, 62 were shared with first wife Mildred.
Meanwhile, sons Marston Glenn and Cooper were born to Kimberley and Hugh.
When did Hugh Hefner pass away?
The Playboy legend passed away on September 27, 2017 aged 91 from natural causes while “surrounded by loved one” at the famous mansion.
Celebrities from Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton paid tribute to the flamboyant figure – who claimed to have bedded thousands of beautiful women.
His son Cooper remembered the pioneer as a “leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time”.
“My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer,” he said.
“He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand.”
The firm behind the magazine described Hefner as “the American icon who in 1953 introduced the world to Playboy magazine and built the company into one of the most recognisable American global brands in history.”
What was Hugh Hefner’s net worth?
Hugh is estimated to have left behind a $50million empire.
The entrepreneur began building his brand after starting out as a writer for Esquire Magazine.
He went on to pour all his funds and loans into kickstarting Playboy, with the first issue published in 1953 and it sold a whopping 50,000 copies.
This grew into the entire franchise Playboy Enterprises, which included Playboy TV, Playboy Online, and four adult TV networks.
At the height of fame, Hef was estimated to be worth around $200million in the mid 1990s.
By the time of the Playboy icon’s death, the business had significantly deteriorated due to the creator’s slow transition away from magazines.
How much did Crystal Hefner inherit?
Many fans mistakenly believe Hef owned the Playboy Mansion, but he actually rented it.
It was sold in 2016 to Daren Metropoulos, son of billionaire C. Dean Metropoulos after being put on the market for $200million.
Hefner was allowed to live in the luxury pad for the rest of his life under the agreement.
After his death, Crystal was targeted by a barrage of trolls calling her a gold-digger.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun she said: “I would get hit with all the stereotypes.
“People would say I was a dumb blonde, a fake, a gold digger who didn’t really love Hef.
“I suffered attacks on my relationship with him, on my looks, on my intelligence.
“I was afraid to do interviews because as soon as I’d sit down they would attack me. Because of the age difference the first thing they would ask is ‘How is your sex life?’”
Crystal was in fact never in her husband’s will – and the couple had a pre-nup which meant she was unlikely to get anything.
But, as they were still married the widow was entitled to a substantial payout – $7million cash – as well as inheriting a $5million Hollywood Hills house – which he left in a trust for her.
The rest of his $45million fortune was split between his four children, a university and various charities.
THE PLAYBOY REVOLUTION
- In 1953, a time when states could legally ban contraceptives and the word “pregnant” was not allowed on “I Love Lucy,” Hefner published the first issue of Playboy, featuring naked photos of Marilyn Monroe and an editorial promise of “humor, sophistication and spice.”
- The Great Depression and World War II were over and Playboy soon became forbidden fruit for teens and a bible for men with time and money, primed for the magazine’s prescribed evenings of dimmed lights, hard drinks, soft jazz, deep thoughts and deeper desires. Within a year, circulation neared 200,000.
- Within five years, it had topped 1 million.
- Hefner and Playboy were brand names worldwide. Asked by The New York Times in 1992 of what he was proudest, Hefner responded: “That I changed attitudes toward sex. That nice people can live together now.
- “That I decontaminated the notion of premarital sex. That gives me great satisfaction.”
- Censorship of the magazine was inevitable. Playboy has been banned in China, India, Saudi Arabia and Ireland.
- In the 1950s, Hefner successfully sued to prevent the U.S. Postal Service from denying him second-class mailing status.
- 7-Eleven stores for years did not sell the magazine. Stores that did offer Playboy made sure to stock it on a higher shelf.
- Women were warned from the first issue: “If you’re somebody’s sister, wife, or mother-in-law,” the magazine declared, “and picked us up by mistake, please pass us along to the man in your life and get back to Ladies Home Companion.”