Posted on 06/30/2024 10:38:12 PM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
Mary Austin, former fiancée of Queen's Freddie Mercury, is set to receive an estimated $237 million from a potential $1.26 billion deal with Sony.
Austin, 73, already inherited half of Mercury's estate after his death in 1991, with her share increasing to 75% following the passing of Mercury's parents.
She also receives 18.75% of revenues from Queen Productions, which manages the band's catalog.
This latest windfall could propel Austin into the ranks of Britain's 100 wealthiest women.
Austin met Mercury in 1970 when she was 19 and he was an aspiring musician. They were engaged in 1973, but separated in 1976 when Mercury came out as gay.
Despite this, they remained close, with Mercury calling her his common-law wife.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Knew he was gay, didn't know about her. Nice that he took care of her.
Ka-ching.
There money in hagging.
She must have become a philanthropist by now, as with Bill Gates ex wife. One can only spend so much money at a time, without remaking your life into something completely different. Even King Midas was only so rich! //
He was a decent man, despite his habits.
Freddie Mercury was known of his extravagant and promiscuous lifestyle, which included men of all walks of the life. The gay/bi society in the 1970s was known as a fringe lifestyle, promiscuity being the norm and everyone slept with everybody. The HIV Patient Zero - Canadian airplane stewart Gaëtan Dugas - was known of his completely reckless and disregarding lifestyle, and as a flight attendant could infect hundreds of gay men all around the US. That happened in the 1970s.
Freddie loved everything beautiful, be they works of art, women, music, cats - or men. He was extremely sensitive - and it was his undoing. According to Jim Hutton, he first sought diagnosis for HIV in 1986, and was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. Since HIV can incubate for years before developing the full AIDS - usually it takes 5 to 11 years, Freddie had no natural resistance, and as it was a particularly virulent strain, it is likely he contracted HIV in the early eighties. Some people point it to the period between 26th July and 13th August 1982 during a break in the tour in US.
Freddie had gazillions of one-night stands at that time, and he also organized wild orgies and parties. But after the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium 1984, he moved together with Jim Hutton, who was a faithful friend. They stayed together until Freddie passed away 1991. Jim Hutton himself was HIV positive.
Kinda (Way) out of it, aren’t you ?
Another woman who did nothing for a mans fortune.
Just a couple of guys on their own personal mission, one that has terrible consequences for society. Wow.
It’s not like she swindled him out of it. He left it to her because he loved her. No different than someone leaving their wealth to a parent or child.
She dumped him romantically when she found out. But they still talked to one another. That does not make her his common law wife. For whatever reason though he declared that he would always love her. A couple of his songs are said to be about her. I always thought that she had already inherited the money.
Fat bottom girls, was that about her?
Right! It seemed that she was the true love of his life.
Earn?
There are interviews where Freddie says, basically, the only true friend he has is Mary Austin.
By most accounts, she is generally a silent partner in all things Queen. She stays out of the spotlight.
To borrow a British phrase, I don’t now why some get their knickers in a twist over Ms Austin.
She didn’t fag hag.
And the money usually goes from woman to man in those cases.
That was uncharitable.
I don’t know either. It doesn’t matter if she was his “common-law wife”; it was his $$ and he could leave it to whoever he wanted. I believe the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody” is accurate.
Interesting to think about how wealthy ones like Marilyn Monroe (basically broke and owed back taxes at the time of her passing in 1962), John Lennon, Elvis, and others got since leaving this earth.
Yes and most of Mercury's share of Queen's music catalog. This made news because the band sold it to Sony recently so she got an instant monetary value from it.
“Freddie had gazillions of one-night stands at that time, and he also organized wild orgies and parties“
Gotta say, your definition of “sensitive” differs from mine.
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