Eric Charbonneau/Getty ImagesNot only was Ronni Chasen a brilliant publicist. She was also a charitable one, save the one family member she stiffed.
E! News has obtained a copy of the last will and testament of the marketing mastermind, who was murdered two weeks ago, an execution-style killing that shocked Tinseltown.
By the looks of the doc, dated June 10, 1994, Ronni had sizeable assets. So excatly how much is her estate worth?
According to the documents, her net worth was valued at $6.1 million. Here's a rundown of what she left behind:
- Chasen, who was unmarried and did not have any children, initially left three-quarters of her estate, including all her furs, to her mother, Carolyn Cohen. But since Cohen passed away, the money will be disbursed among other relatives, namely Ronni's niece Melissa Cohen and Ronni's brother, Lawrence Cohen. As for the furs, they'll be sold and the proceeds divvied up accordingly.
- Melissa also received $50,000 in a separate trust that would pass to her heirs in the event of her death.
- Ronni gave $10,000 to individuals Sandra Manley and Elizabeth Smith
- Ronni bestowed various paintings to a number of individuals, including über-publicist Warren Cowen and jeweler-to-the-stars Martin Katz.
- She also gave nephew Robert Goforth and two other individuals $10,000 each, provided it be used to educate their children
- Goforth also was bequeathed her record collection.
- Chasen donated her Playbill collection to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on the proviso that any public exhibition be accompanied with a notice stating "from the collection of Ronni Chasen."
While she was known as a giving person, the publicist wasn't too charitable one neice, Jill Gatsby, née Cohen, who received a measley $10—yup, you read that right—$10. No reason was given.
"I have intentionally and with full knowledge of the consequences omitted to provide for my niece, Jill Cohen, also known as Jill Gatsby, except for the gift of $10," she writes in the will.
That sound you heard was a slap in the face. Gatsby could not be reached for comment.
(A more up-to-date will might be tucked away somewhere, so maybe there's hope yet for her?)
Chasen was also a big supporter of a variety of charities, and her will was quite generous on that front, particularly to the late Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall gang which received a $20,000 donation from her estate. Here's a look at some others:
- $10,000 went to the Make-a-Wish Foundation International
- $5,000 was left to the Woman's Cancer Research Foundation
- $5,000 to the American Film Institute
- $5,000 to the Simon Wiesenthal Center
- $2,500 to the Gilda Radner Cancer Program
And small amounts of money go to Big Sister Volunteers of Los Angeles, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Chasen nominated her brother, Lawrence "Larry" Cohen, as a coexecutor of the will with three other individuals and administer her estate according to her wishes.
According to supplemental documents, another will was prepared for Chasen in 2006, but it has not yet been located. Cohen, a screenwriter whose credits include Phone Booth and Cellular, says he believes the will may be tucked away in a safe-deposit box.
The documents also laid out her wish for a funeral, including a small temple service officiated by a rabbi and a memorial service. She also requested that a piece of music be written by legendary composer John Williams, if possible. (Chasen was laid to rest last Sunday; however, as far as we know Williams did not write a song.)
Meanwhile, police appear closer to solving the case following yesterday's suicide of an unidentified Los Angeles man deemed a "person of interest." He was suspected to be the hired triggerman for a hit on Chasen.
No word yet on a motive, but several theories are floating around.