Matthew Perry Net Worth: ‘Friends’ Actor Continues To Earn $20 Million Yearly Even After Death
Matthew Perry will continue to earn millions in "Friends" royalties annually after his death, and a lawyer has weighed in on what may happen to his fortune.
Perry had an estimated net worth of $120 million at the time of his death at age 54 at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
The majority of his net worth is attributed to his role as Chandler Bing on "Friends," where he appeared in all 236 of the show's episodes between 1994 and 2004.
Perry and co-stars Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow were paid $1 million per episode in the sitcom's last few seasons.
But even after the series wrapped, the six co-stars continued to receive millions annually for their roles on the show due to a deal with Warner Brothers that paid them each 2% of syndication income from "Friends."
As of 2018, Perry, Aniston, Schwimmer, Cox, LeBlanc and Kudrow were each getting $20 million in "Friends" residuals every year, Fox Business reported.
The amount increased after Netflix picked up the sitcom's reruns, Marketplace reported.
When the six reunited for a "Friends" special in 2021, they were each paid $2.5 million, Variety reported.
Perry also found success as an actor outside of "Friends," having appeared on TV shows such as "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and "Go On" and films like "Fools Rush In" and "The Whole Nine Yards."
Last year, he released his bestselling memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," in which he discussed his years-long struggle with addiction and sobriety.
The book recently topped Amazon's Best Sellers list following Perry's death.
Los Angeles entertainment lawyer Tre Lovell told Entertainment Tonight that Perry's heirs will continue to receive the actor's residuals "for however long the shows continue to replay."
As for who will inherit Perry's estate, the lawyer told the New York Post that three possible things could happen.
"There may be a trust, and that would be administered privately, through his trustee. He could have had a will - that would be administered under [probate] court supervision. If he had neither, there's a statutory framework put in place, where there's a listing of his heirs that would get his estate," Lovell explained.
Given that the actor never married or had kids, Lovell said that Perry's estate could go to his parents.
"They would split his estate," the lawyer said. "His siblings would be next in line, after the parents. But, since both of his parents are living, they would get it."
Perry is survived by his actor father, John Bennett Perry, 82; his mother, Suzanne, 75; and his stepfather, "Dateline's" Keith Morrison, 76.
The actor has five half-siblings. Caitlin, Emily, Will and Madeline Morrison are Suzanne's kids with Keith, while Maria Perry is John Bennett's daughter with his second wife, Debbie Boyle.
