What happened to Amy Winehouse’s fortune and properties

Amy Winehouse. Picture: Jim Dyson/Getty Images

When Amy Winehouse died in 2011, she left behind a complicated mess of money and property.

The singer’s life was tragically cut short in 2011 at the age of 27 from accidental alcohol poisoning.

The music star did not leave a will, which made her estate complex.

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Amy Winehouse. Picture: Jim Dyson/Getty Images

Here’s a closer look at who inherited Winehouse’s fortune and what became of her properties.

What was Amy Winehouse’s net worth?

The Rehab songstress was once said to be worth as much as £15 million ($A23 million).

However, Winehouse’s fortune was estimated at a modest £3 million ($A6.1 million) at the time of her death.

The surprise amount left many people wondering what happened to the rest of the singer’s fortune.

After gaining fame, Winehouse was included in the Sunday Times’ Rich List in 2008, with earnings of £10 million ($A20.4 million). However, by the following year, her assets had decreased by half.

Winehouse’s fortune was estimated at a modest £3 million at the time of her death. Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

A friend connected to the musician’s management company told the Daily Mail she spent it on drugs, on men, and on “friends” who said they needed her.

“Before Amy died, money was being leeched off her left, right and centre,” she told the outlet.

“It was like taking money off a baby when it came to Amy — she couldn’t stop giving it away.”

When Winehouse used drugs — which she stopped around 2008 — she spent £1,000 ($A2,000) a day on heroin and cocaine.

According to media reports, a huge chunk of the Grammy-winner’s earnings also went to paying off taxes and other costs.

Winehouse’s property portfolio included a home in Camden, London, valued at about £2.7 million ($A5.5 million), and a Hertfordshire country home that sold for about £1.9 million ($A3.8 million) after her death.

Winehouse’s property portfolio included a home in Camden, London. Picture: Supplied.

Who inherited Amy Winehouse’s fortune?

Winehouse’s estate was inherited by her parents, Mitch and Janis. The inheritance included her properties.

Since the singer’s death, the value of her estate is believed to have grown considerably from song royalties.

Winehouse’s musical legacy is still making over £1 million ($A2 million) a year for her family, The Sun reports.

Her posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, released in 2011, was among her many successful commercial contributions.

The 2015 documentary Amy also renewed interest in her music, boosting her estate’s earnings.

According to The Sun, Winehouse’s music is still making so much in royalties that her parents have three companies that handle income from her recording career and various spin-off projects.

The first called Openville Ltd which deals in ‘artistic creation’ shows it has nearly one million in the bank.

A second company called MW Records Ltd of which Mitch is the sole director set up in September 2012 to handle “support activities to performing arts”.

A third company, Portcrown Ltd is for “artistic creation”. Janis and Mitch are sole directors of the company formed in March 2017.

Winehouse’s estate was inherited by her parents, Mitch and Janis. Picture: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

The couple have also been involved in managing Winehouse’s legacy, including the establishment of the Amy Winehouse Foundation following her death in 2011.

The foundation aims to support young people struggling with addiction and substance abuse through a variety of initiatives, including the Resilience Programme, which operates in schools around the UK about substance abuse, and Amy’s Place, a recovery house for young women overcoming addiction.

The foundation also supports music therapy projects and provides grants to initiatives from youth clubs and counselling services, to sports and arts programs.

Through these ongoing efforts, Amy’s parents continue to oversee her posthumous earnings, preserving not only Amy’s Legacy in the process, but also equipping others with the tools and resources to avoid the struggles she faced before her death.

Meanwhile, a charity in Amy’s name has educated schoolchildren about the dangers of substance abuse and set up a refuge for up to 16 women at a time to escape from cycles of addiction and domestic abuse.

Mitch, who helps run the foundation, remains enormously proud of Amy’s legacy.

He told The Sun in 2021: “We get a final say on every song and commercial deal — the last thing we want is Amy’s music becoming the soundtrack to a cigarette advert somewhere.”

Winehouse’s posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures was among her many successful commercial contributions.