Presley's fame came at a price, though, with Parker taking up to 50% of the singer's earnings, whereas most managers took 10 to 15%.
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.
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.
And in 1973, he sold the masters for all of Presley's recordings to RCA for $5.4 million. Not only was that a fraction of their worth; after Parker's cut and taxes, Presley was left with $1.35 million, most of that going to Priscilla Presley in a divorce settlement.
What was Colonel Tom Parker's Net Worth? Colonel Tom Parker was a Dutch-American talent manager and musical entrepreneur who had a net worth of $1 million at the time of his death in 1997. Colonel Tom Parker was best known for being the manager of Elvis Presley.
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.
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.
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.
By the time of Elvis' death, the Colonel was said to owe the Hilton Hotel group around $30 million in gambling debts. After his own death, the Colonel's estate was worth barely $1 million, despite most estimates putting Parker's earnings during his lifetime as being in excess of $100 million.
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.
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).
Elvis Presley was furious with Parker's actions. According to TVTropes.com, he demanded that the album be taken off the market. Evidently, the debacle wasn't serious enough for Elvis to confront his manager. Whether he truly wanted to fire Parker or not, death was the only thing that could split the two apart.
$125,000 The amount of money Elvis earned per week to perform in Las Vegas.
The money. 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 ...
What was Colonel Tom Parker Worth When He Died? Because of his crazy commission from Elvis' career the question of the Colonel Tom Parker net worth is one many have asked. At the time of his death in 1997, Elvis' Manager, Colonel Parker was worth approximately $1 million, the same as $1.8 million in 2023.
Despite the fact that Sony BMG owns the rights to Elvis' recordings, they continue to release them under the RCA Records label. The songs are owned by the composers and publishers. The Sun and RCA recordings were never his.
Did Ginger Alden Attend Elvis' Funeral? Yes. As his fiancée at the time, it is believed that Ginger Alden was present for Elvis' funeral. Following the funeral, however, she was reportedly banned from Graceland by Presley's family and had to receive permission to visit his grave.
Austin Butler And Kaia Gerber Attend Lisa Marie Presley's Memorial Service - YouTube.
The documents outline how the estate will be split between Lisa Marie's family members and specify that Priscilla will be buried at Graceland as near as possible to Elvis, her ex-husband.
Presley never fired Parker publicly, but he did have an on-stage meltdown at a Vegas show over the firing of a kitchen employee he liked. After this altercation, Presley and Parker did have an argument that resulted in Parker's firing, according to Alanna Nash, author of Parker's biography.
In later years, Parker's influence waned, but he continued in his management role until Presley's death in 1977. For the rest of his life, Parker managed the Presley estate.
Although Parker himself would live for another 20 years after Presley, dying at 87 in 1997, a big part of him died with Elvis.
“When Elvis died, he had one child, which was Lisa Marie — he wanted everything to go to Lisa Marie,” Melcher said. “Priscilla and Elvis were divorced and he made a conscious choice not to leave Priscilla in his will or estate.