John Lennon's Estate: Sean Challenges Longtime Rumor About His And Julian's Inheritance

By Kristin Conard
Julian Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon posing at a red carpet event Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
Add The List on Google:
Google Discover

John Lennon was famously a member of The Beatles, but his life beyond the band made headlines, too. John had a rather messy love life; he was originally married to Cynthia Lennon, and the two had one child together, Julian Lennon. After a messy divorce, John married Yoko Ono, whom he was married to when he died in 1980. John and Ono had a son as well, Sean Ono Lennon. The brothers get along; however, Julian and Sean have experienced some tragic events in their lives, and there's been long-standing rumors that Sean received the lion's share of John's fortune after he died and that Julian was left out. However, Sean recently denied these claims.

Sean shared a photo of himself and Julian from his birthday on X. Someone then reposted the image, adding their own take: "One guy inherited most of the estate, the other largely cut out and forced to engaged in decades-long litigation in pursuit of a comparatively small share of it." Sean decided to chime in with what really happened, replying, "Julian and I inherited the same amount from our dad. Our trusts were equal. Although his was slightly more, but negligibly so." Julian hasn't commented publicly on the post.

John reportedly left Julian a trust fund of £50,000 (currently around $65,000) that he would receive when he turned 25, per The Telegraph. Julian was 17 when his 40-year-old father was murdered in New York City. That trust fund may have been the inheritance that Sean was referring to in his X post. However, looking at the trust funds alone seemingly leaves out what happened in the wake of John's death.

Julian Lennon has spoken a bit about his share of John Lennon's estate

Julian Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon posing at a red carpet event Rich Fury/Getty Images

Granted, we don't know the exact ins-and-outs of how John Lennon's estate was divided up or what he wrote in his will. But we have heard from Julian Lennon about how he felt about his father and his second wife, Yoko Ono, as well as what happened with the bulk of the money — John was estimated to be worth more than $200 million when he died. Ono had control over John's fortune after John was murdered. Julian contested how the estate was divided, and he ended up getting an undisclosed settlement. "I don't think it was necessarily fair," Julian told The Telegraph in 1998, "but I'm OK. The last thing I wanted was a court battle because there's much more money on the estate side than my side."

John largely kept his first marriage and first child a secret. It was at the height of Beatlemania and having a wife and kid didn't really match with the young heartthrob persona The Beatles had at the time. Even though he wasn't around through all The Beatles years, Julian is a vital part of the band's history — he was the inspiration for "Hey Jude." Paul McCartney wrote the song trying to comfort the young boy in the wake of John's split with his mother Cynthia Lennon.

Julian has confirmed he has a "love-hate relationship" with the song, calling it a "stark and dark reminder of actually what happened... the fact that Dad walked out, left Mum and I. ... It was a time of complete disruption" (via Men's Journal). Father and son did have a closer relationship as Julian got older, and Julian seems to have moved on from the situation.

Recommended