The case was settled out of court in 1983, and in exchange for $2 million, Parker had to relinquish all video and audio recordings of Presley and give up his earnings on all Presley-related materials for the next five years. The sale of his catalog was the final nail in the coffin of Presley and Parker's relationship.
Towards the end of his career, the Colonel was taking a 50% commission, which was considered completely exploitative. Elvis Presley's performance in Hawaii in 1973 was the first performance telecast via satellite to the world.
Being managed by Colonel Tom Parker came at a hefty price for the “Love Me Tender” singer. No matter where it came from, be it from touring, record sales, his time at Sun Records, or merchandise, Colonel Parker took up to 50 percent of Elvis' earnings throughout his career.
More still went to RCA records, sole owner of all of Elvis' music before 1973, thanks to a $5.4-million deal Parker arranged in that year. It is a deal that severed the Presley estate from the royalties for more than 700 songs and put $2.6 million in the colonel's pocket.
But while he helped catapult him to the stars, there's a strong argument that Colonel Tom Parker held Elvis back several times during his career.
The Colonel travelled to Memphis for the funeral, where he turned up dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and baseball cap, and smoked his trademark cigar. It was reported that at the funeral, he persuaded Presley's father to sign over control of Presley's career in death to him.
In making him such an antagonist, they have robbed him of his many accomplishments with his client. Is it true, as portrayed, that Parker was consistently trying to pressure Elvis to tone down his sex appeal? No, no, not at all. Elvis took care of what Elvis did and Colonel took care of what Colonel did.
The sum varies from $2 million to $10 million, she says, and as the movie shows, Elvis ultimately decided he couldn't afford to pay and went back to work for the colonel.
It has been widely reported that the colonel took more than half of Presley's income in return for negotiating merchandising deals, TV appearances and acting roles. He also became an adviser to the star, helping Presley make the decision to accept military service in 1958 and marry Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the King of Rock n' Roll was worth an estimated $5 million at the time of his death in August 1977. Adjusting for inflation, Elvis Presley's net worth when he died would round out to around $20 million by today's standards.
While Presley's star rose, his band remained on a fixed salary, causing increasing dissension. In a joint interview with The Memphis Press-Scimitar in late 1956, his three sidemen said they were being paid $200 a week when on tour (the article called that “good money for sidemen”) and $100 a week the rest of the time.
Lisa Marie became the the sole owner of the mansion when the trust holding her inheritance dissolved on her 25th birthday in 1993. Graceland has become a popular tourist attraction over the years, with public tours on offer as well as sprawling museum exhibits.
Today, the Presley estate is estimated to be worth between $400 million and $500 million, according to one Presley exec. That's less than the Beatles (whose song catalog is said to be worth more than $1 billion) and Queen (thanks to Bohemian Rhapsody, the surviving members top Presley at $575 million).
Over the years, the trustees decided to open Graceland up to the public via a variety of tours and overnight stays. Elvis purchased the home in 1957 for $US100,000 ($A143,500). In 2020, Rolling Stone reported its estimated worth to be as much as $US500 million ($A718 million).
Colonel Tom Parker was likely moved to tears for two reasons. One, was that he loved seeing "his boy" do so well at his craft. But the other reason was purely financial.
Parker served the U.S. Army for four years (1929-1933). This alone led him to no longer being an illegal alien. Later he got married to a U.S. citizen, Marie Ross. This also provided him a legal right of residence in the United States.
According to the author, Colonel Tom Parker had threatened to cancel Elvis' international tour if he toured internationally in the most recent Baz Luhrmann film about him, Elvis. Parker always prevented him from doing so because he was concerned about its security implications.
BB King was one of the many people who mourned Elvis' death, and he paid tribute to his friend by performing at his funeral. He later said that Elvis was “the greatest entertainer that ever lived,” and that he was proud to have been his friend.
After Elvis's death in 1977, his father Vernon was one of the executors of his estate, which was held in trust for his daughter Lisa Marie. Vernon named Priscilla to be his successor upon his death. She assumed the role following Vernon's 1979 death.
One reason why the Colonel didn't do so is theorised by his biographer, Alanna Nash. She suggests the possibility that the Colonel's evasions were due to a murder he committed in the Netherlands, which prompted his hasty departure across the Atlantic.
Colonel Parker managed Elvis Presley from 1955 until the singer's death in 1977. Prior to managing Presley, Parker helped transform Eddy Arnold into a country superstar with his own radio shows, movie roles, Las Vegas bookings, and an unparalleled resume of #1 records.
Estimates place his lifetime earnings anywhere from $100 million up to one billion dollars. Regardless of where the true figure lies, there is no doubt that Elvis felt free to be as generous as he wanted to his only daughter — and lots of other people too, for that matter.
Although Parker himself would live for another 20 years after Presley, dying at 87 in 1997, a big part of him died with Elvis.