Inside George Michael’s crumbling $20m home
The sad state of George Michael’s once beloved $20 million mansion has ignited a fresh fight over his fortune.
The news of George Michael’s $20 million UK home lying in ruins after his death has sparked questions over what happened to the fortune the music legend left behind.
Last week, photos emerged of the “Father Figure” singer’s Oakhill house in London having fallen into despair.
The mansion — bought by George in 1987 as his solo career took off — was clad in scaffolding, with overflowing skips littering the driveway, as workers toil to turn around its fortunes. Its enormous trees and bushes are now overgrown and unkempt.
The Sun reports neighbours are struggling to comprehend its downturn when the star left a £97.6 million ($A193 million) fortune.
“We used to see George around but no one seems to have been in the house for years,” one local said.
“With all that money sloshing about, it’s strange that it’s taken so long to get around to sorting it out. Why has it taken so long?”
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George’s Estate
The Wham! star tragically died on Christmas Day 2016, as a result of heart and liver disease.
But it was more than two years later, in May 2019, before court paperwork was finally issued, meaning his estate could be divided up.
The bulk of it went to sisters Yioda and Melanie Panayiotou, while his dad Kyriacos, known as Jack, was handed the use of the singer’s horse stud farm in Hertfordshire, where he had lived for years, “for so long as he wishes”.
Artwork including pieces by Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, and a piano once owned by John Lennon, went to the Mill Charitable Trust which George set up in 2009 to give money to other charities.
The remainder of the estate was to be sold then divided as the trustees saw fit between his father, sisters and friends.
Beneficiaries included Wham! bandmate Shirlie Kemp, model Kay Mayer, record producer David Austin, former PA Michelle May, cousin Alex Georgiou, publicist Connie Filippo and family friend Sonia Bird.
George’s goddaughters Harley Moon Kemp and Bluebell Halliwell — the daughters of backing singer Shirlie and Spice Girl Geri — were also included.
But notably, nothing was left to former lover Fadi Fawaz, 49, who discovered Michael’s body at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxon.
After George’s death, Fawaz squatted at another of the singer’s London properties, near Regent’s Park, refusing to give the £5 million ($A9.8 million) pile back to George’s family.
In July 2019 he was arrested after reportedly standing on the roof topless. A few days earlier he had been in trouble for smashing up the house.
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Long-running feud
George’s former partner Kenny Goss did get some money despite not being named in the will.
Kenny had asked for a £15,000 ($A27,000)-a-month payment but eventually settled for an undisclosed sum following a long-running feud.
The Grammy-winner’s other homes around the world were sold for large profits, and cash from music royalties and publishing rights continue to pour into the family coffers every year.
Over the past two years alone the chart legend has raked in more than £30 million ($A59 million) in royalties.
But exactly three years after George’s death, his eldest sister Melanie was found dead at her North London home aged 59.
Melanie, who had also been George’s hair and make-up artist, was later revealed to have left an estate of just £6.2 million ($A12.2 million) after using up most of her inheritance.
Her death was reportedly due to diabetic ketoacidosis. She was buried in Highgate Cemetery beside George and their mother Lesley who died of cancer in 1997.
Managing George’s estate then fell to younger sister Yioda, 62, who now has control over his remaining fortune.
Unmarried Yioda was one of the few people the singer continued to trust as he became ravaged by booze and substance abuse toward the end of his life.
After their mother’s death, she moved in with George to help him come to terms with his grief.
Thirty years later, Yioda was handed the keys to his Highgate mansion but was soon struggling to maintain it. Now she has been given the green light by Camden Council for a swath of repairs.
Her team of architects, BB Partnership, submitted planning documents promising to transform it into a “habitable condition”.
So the posh Highgate neighbourhood is now forced to endure the daily noise of building machinery which has churned up the muddy footpath sloping past the house.
Armies of builders clad in high-vis jackets mill around the gated courtyard where owners of the adjoining luxury flats park their expensive cars.
Yesterday neighbours complained that the eyesore is a blight on the affluent area.
One man, who declined to give his name, said: “It’s a shame because this is a lovely area and people use the footpath to walk their dogs — we have all been wondering what is going on.
“We used to see George occasionally but as no one has bothered filling us in, we’ve no idea what’s going on.”
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Decayed cladding
The extensive renovation includes removing a water tank, installing a new roof with solar panels, and replacing the decayed exterior cladding with modern white laminate.
Plans include converting two garages into living quarters “with a more traditional house frontage” which will “reinstate the character of the house”.
New decking will be installed around the main house and a window on the upper ground floor will be raised to offer a better view of the garden. A garage will also be extended to house a “large SUV”.
Landscape designers also want permission to fell or heavily prune nine trees which have become a threat to the property but are sited within a Conservation Area.
This includes flattening an eight- metre holly tree and an 11-metre thuja tree “growing within close proximity of the building”.
And a 13-metre fast-growing mature Leyland cypress needs to be cut back.
Yioda’s team also needs to slash an 18-metre sycamore which is hanging over the garages, and remove its dead wood.
When all the work is complete, Yioda is expected to move back into the pad, which local estate agents predict will be worth well over £10 million ($A20 million).
She is currently thought to be living in rural Oxfordshire, to escape the glare of the spotlight and armies of fans who still regularly make pilgrimages to Highgate.
Camden Council’s planning officer Daniel Pope said: “Given the nature of the work and the distance away from neighbouring properties, the proposal is not considered harmful in terms of loss of privacy, outlook, implications to natural light, artificial light spill, or impacts caused from the construction phase of the development.”
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George’s $45 million yearly royalties
The “Faith” singer’s company Nobby’s Hobbies Holding Ltd made an astonishing £23.7 million ($A45.4 million) last year.
While the estate rakes in millions from royalties, some are shared with former bandmate Andrew Ridgeley and George’s god son, DJ Roman Kemp.
While Roman’s shares have not been disclosed, Andrew has been able to live comfortably thanks to the royalties from “Careless Whisper”, which he co-wrote.
The hit song alone has earned him a reported £10 million ($A20 million) since 1982.
But he missed out on any cash from their mega hit “Last Christmas”. Wham! donated all royalties to Ethiopian famine relief when Band Aid kept them off the top spot in 1984.
The song still earns at least £300,000 ($A593,000) per year in royalties, and when it went to No1 in December those proceeds went to African charities too.
Royalties from “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”, the 1991 duet with Elton John, go to Terrence Higgins Trust, the Rainbow Trust, and London Lighthouse hospice.
Proceeds from George’s 1996 hit “Jesus to a Child” went to Childline.
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George’s five other properties
Goring
George bought Mill Cottage, a 16th Century rural cottage in the exclusive Berkshire village of Goring in 2001. It was there he died on Christmas Day 2016.
The house was snapped up by property developers from Hong Kong for £3.8 million ($A7.5 million) in 2020.
They then transformed it into a stylish Airbnb rental, charging £550 ($A1,000) a night.
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St Tropez
His stunning French villa appeared on the market for £10.3 million ($A20.3 million) within months of his death.
Boasting six bedrooms, a huge swimming pool and sweeping sea views, George had owned the lavish property in Ramatuelle since the Eighties.
He affectionately dubbed the house Chez Nobby after his childhood nickname.
Sydney
While on a whirlwind visit to celebrate Sydney’s Mardi Gras festival with Fadi in 2010, George adored the five bedroom, five bathroom clifftop house with ocean views.
Having first been sold in 2020 for $A5.8 million, in 2023 it was quietly listed for $A15million and is now a popular summer rental commanding £2,000 ($A3,900) a night.
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Santa Barbara
Less than a year after he died, George’s luxurious Californian mansion was up for sale at £4.9 million ($A9.6 million).
With five bedrooms and six bathrooms, it also features a pool, sauna, tennis court and parking for 25 cars.
George’s family were keen to flog the pad to offer Fadi a financial incentive to leave the London townhouse.
Dallas
In the early days of his fiery relationship with Kenny Goss, George hung out in Dallas, Texas.
The four bedroom, colonial-style house was lined with expensive pieces of art from Kenny’s vast collection.
It was sold six months after George died for just under £3 million ($A5.9 million).
Parts of this story first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.
Originally published as Inside George Michael’s crumbling $20m home
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