The Presley Inheritance - 1993-03-01
The Presley Inheritance March 1, 1993,
THE FEATURES ARE EERILY FAMILIAR—the no-guff gaze, the studied posturing, the full lips whose pout ripens just short of a sneer. Take one look at Lisa Marie Presley and the spirit of her famous father seems almost tangible, even now, 15 years after his death on that August day in Memphis.
Through many of his 42 years, of course, Elvis Presley seemed to inhabit an otherworldly realm of his own. Rich with royalties, he passed out Caddies like corn chips, turned wretched excess into an art form and squandered untold riches on bad business deals and a traveling circus of flunkies and sycophants. By the time he died, in 1977, his fortune had dwindled to $5 million, left in trust to his only child.
This month, on Feb. 1, her 25th birthday, Lisa Marie Presley finally inherited that estate, which, thanks largely to the stewardship of her mother, Priscilla, has grown to an estimated $100 million. She divvied up a cake with a few close friends, but mostly, she says of that milestone day, "I tried to ignore it." In fact, there is little of the daughter—apart from her looks—that mirrors her famous father. A reclusive wife and mother, she has come to her legacy with a steady, un-Elvis-like calm. "I think it's time," she says simply. "I do (have new responsibilities), but it's not like a major new thing, except maybe for people who didn't know my role."