What is Riley Keough's Net Worth?
Riley Keough is an American actress, producer, and model who has a net worth of $20 million. Riley Keough is the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley, which means she is the granddaughter of Elvis Presley. As we detail in the next section below, Riley was Lisa Marie's sole heir at the time of her death in January 2023. Until her twin half siblings turn 18, Riley controls 100% of Graceland mansion and a 15% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises, the company that controls Elvis' intellectual property rights.
Riley began modeling in her early teens and appeared in her first runway show for Dolce & Gabbana in Italy at age 15. She also modeled for Christian Dior, and she has graced the covers of "Vogue" (the U.S. and Korean versions), "Elle Japan," "Jalouse," and "L'Officiel."
Riley Keough has 35+ acting credits to her name, including "The Runaways" (2010), "Magic Mike" (2012), and "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015), and she starred as Christine Reade on the Starz anthology series "The Girlfriend Experience" (2016). She has also served as a producer on the films "Dixieland" (2017 and 2018). In late 2019, it was announced that Riley had been cast in the title role on the Amazon Prime Video series "Daisy Jones & The Six," which is based on the best-selling Taylor Jenkins Reid novel of the same name. The series was released in March 2023 to critical and audience acclaim.
Elvis & Lisa Marie's Estates
Riley Keough is the sole heir to her mother Lisa Marie Presley's estate, which includes Graceland, the iconic Memphis mansion that was Elvis Presley's home. This means that she owns:
- The Graceland property itself: This includes the mansion, the surrounding grounds, and all the outbuildings, such as the Meditation Garden where Elvis is buried.
- A 15% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE): This company controls Elvis's intellectual property rights, including his music, his name and image, and merchandise.
- It's important to note that Keough doesn't own Graceland outright. It's held in a trust, which means that she can't sell it or make major changes to it without the approval of the other trustees. However, she does have a controlling interest in the trust, and she is ultimately responsible for its management.
Upon Elvis' death in 1977 at the age of 42, he left his entire estate to Lisa Marie Presley. Unfortunately at the time of his death Elvis' estate was in a difficult financial position and was worth just $1 million at that time. Lisa inherited full ownership of his estate upon her 25th birthday. At that point the estate's value had grown to be worth $100 million.
In 2005 Lisa sold an 85% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises for a one-time $100 million payout. She maintained 100% ownership of Graceland mansion.
Unfortunately, Lisa Marie died suddenly in January 2023 at the age of 54. In the years leading up to her death, Lisa Marie had claimed to be in debt to the tune of $16 million thanks to decades of profligate spending and alleged financial mismanagement. However, even with her personal debts Lisa left behind a 15% ownership stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises and 100% ownership of Graceland mansion. Upon her death a reported $35 million worth of life insurance benefits were paid.
In 2016 Lisa Marie adjusted her will to to cut her mother out and add her two eldest children, Benjamin and Riley, as her sole trustees. Benjamin tragically died of suicide in 2020 which meant Riley became the sole trustee upon Lisa Marie's death. Riley has twin half-siblings through Lisa Marie's relationship with Michael Lockwood. Those twins, who were under 18 at the time of Lisa Marie's death, will eventually also own a piece of the Elvis estate.
Priscilla briefly attempted the block Riley from being the sole heir of Lisa Marie's estate. In her petition Priscilla pointed out that her own name was misspelled at least once in the updated 2016 will AND Lisa Marie's signature was very different from previous signatures. Riley and Priscilla ultimately settled the situation out of court, with Priscilla reportedly being given a portion of Lisa Marie's $35 million life insurance payouts.
(Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage)
Early Life
Riley Keough was born Danielle Riley Keough on May 29, 1989, in Santa Monica, California. Her mother is Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, and her father is musician Danny Keough. Riley grew up with a younger brother, Benjamin, and their parents divorced in 1994. After the divorce, Lisa Marie was briefly married to Michael Jackson (1994-1996) and Nicolas Cage (2002-2004). Riley primarily lived with her father in Los Angeles and Hawaii, though she sometimes lived at Graceland in Memphis and her mother's L.A. home. Since Keough often traveled between her parents' homes, she was homeschooled. Riley has two half-sisters, twins Finley and Harper, from Lisa Marie's marriage to Michael Lockwood.
Career
Keough made her acting debut as Marie Currie in the 2010 biopic "The Runaways," and she followed the film with "The Good Doctor" and "Jack & Diane" in 2011. In 2012, she appeared in "Magic Mike," which grossed $167.2 million against a $7 million budget, as well as "Yellow" and "Kiss of the Damned."
In 2015, Riley starred in another hit, "Mad Max: Fury Road," which brought in $375.6 million at the box office and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. In 2016, she landed the lead role on the series "The Girlfriend Experience" and appeared in the films "Lovesong" and "American Honey." The following year, Keough appeared in the films "The Discovery," "We Don't Belong Here," "It Comes at Night," and "Logan Lucky" and launched the production company Felix Culpa. In 2018, she guest-starred on The CW series "Riverdale," starred in the films "Welcome the Stranger," "The House That Jack Built," "Under the Silver Lake," and "Hold the Dark," and portrayed journalist Sara Ganim in the HBO movie "Paterno."
In 2019, Riley played the lead in the horror film "The Lodge" and starred in the psychological thriller "Earthquake Bird," followed by "Zola" and "The Devil All the Time" in 2020. In March 2021, it was reported that Keough had been cast in the Amazon Prime Video series "The Terminal List" alongside Chris Pratt, Taylor Kitsch, Constance Wu, and Jeanne Tripplehorn.
In March of 2023 Riley began starring in the Amazon series "Daisy Jones & the Six." The show was very well received, earning multiple award nominations and an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Riley herself was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. She lost to Ali Wong for her performance in the Netflix series "Beef."
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Personal Life
Riley met stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen on the set of "Mad Max: Fury Road," and they married in Napa, California, on February 4, 2015. Actress Dakota Johnson served as a bridesmaid, and the ceremony was also attended by Zoë Kravitz, Kristen Stewart, and Cara Delevingne. Keough previously dated actor Alex Pettyfer, and they became engaged in March 2012 after six months of dating.
Riley's brother, Benjamin, died by suicide on July 12, 2020. A week later, Keough spoke out about Benjamin's tragic death, writing on social media, "Mornings are the hardest. I forget you're gone. I can't cry because of the fear that I will never stop. A pain that's new to me. You. There are no words for you. Angel is the closest I could think of. Pure light. Baby brother. Best friend. Wild man. Intellectual. Witness to my life. Twin soul. Protector. Too sensitive for this harsh world. I hope you give me strength to endure the giant hole you've left in my heart."
In March 2021, Riley revealed that she had completed training to become a death doula, which is described as "a non-medical person trained to care for someone holistically (physically, emotionally and spiritually) at the end of life." Keough said of her new endeavor, "I think it's so important to be educated on conscious dying and death the way we educate ourselves on birth and conscious birthing. We prepare ourselves so rigorously for the entrance and have no preparation for our exit."
Awards and Nominations
In 2017, Riley was named Woman of the Year at the "Elle" Women in Hollywood Awards, and she won a Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama Special for "The Girlfriend Experience." Her performance on "The Girlfriend Experience" also earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and a Women's Image Network Award nomination for Actress MFT Movie / Mini-Series. For "American Honey," Riley received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female and a London Critics Circle Film Award nomination for Supporting Actress of the Year, and a "Village Voice" Film Poll ranked her #9 for 2016's Best Supporting Actress. She earned a Fright Meter Award nomination for Best Actress for "The Lodge" and a Milano International Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress for "The Good Doctor." Keough and her "Mad Max: Fury Road" co-stars received a Gold Derby Award nomination for Ensemble Cast, and "The House That Jack Built" cast earned a Best Ensemble Performance nomination at the 2019 Faro Island Film Festival.
Real Estate
In 2018, Keough and Smith-Petersen paid just over $1.3 million for a nearly 1,200 square foot cottage in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles. Built in the 1920s, the renovated home includes two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and the property features a vine-covered fence, a courtyard, and several patios. They listed this home for sale in April 2024 for $1.6 million.
