Desi Arnaz's Final Will Reveals Whether His Kids Did Inherit Millions

Desi Arnaz, best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on "I Love Lucy," was a television icon. For six seasons, starting in 1951, Desi and his real-life wife, Lucille Ball, played a fictional couple who always found themselves in the middle of hijinks. Although he and Ball, who had two children during their marriage, went through a tumultuous divorce in 1960, they continued to work together on other projects in the years after their split. Their subsequent efforts, which included Arnaz producing episodes of "The Lucy Show," never quite matched the fanfare of "I Love Lucy," but the creative duo was still incredibly rich at the end of their lives. Ball's net worth, for example, was $60 million when she passed away in 1989. Meanwhile, Desi was worth $20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth — and we know who inherited his money.

Usually, the husband or wife is the main beneficiary of a person's estate — unless their will dictates otherwise. Then come their children and other loved ones. After Desi's messy divorce from Ball, he married again, but his wife, Edith Mack Hirsch, actually passed away before him. According to The New York Times, Hirsch died in 1985. Meanwhile, Desi died in December 1986, after navigating lung cancer. As a result, his fortune passed on to the two children — Desi Arnaz Jr. and Lucie Arnaz — he shared with Ball. However, he also allocated a relatively small sum ($250,000) to his mother, Dolores "Lolita" Arnaz de Acha y de Socias, per AP News. But Lucie and Desi Jr. were the main beneficiaries. Fortunately, it appears that Desi left his money in good hands.

Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. got a head start in life, but their respective entertainment careers have proven that these nepo babies actually deserve their fame. However, it's likely that Desi left his fortune to his children because he knew they'd handle things appropriately. After all, Lucie, specifically, was given full decision-making over his estate, which also oversaw the care of his beloved mother. "We've continued to do what he wanted," Lucie told the Sun Sentinel about honoring her father's wishes in 1987. "There's a reason why these things happen, I guess God wants her around for something ... bless her, she'll probably outlive us all."

This interview was just one of many times that Lucie has talked about her late father over the years. In 2022, while promoting the Amazon Prime documentary "Lucy and Desi," which chronicled her parents' complicated marriage, Lucie shared a heartbreaking story about her mom Lucille Ball's last phone conversation with Desi before he died. "I could hear her say, 'I love you," she told People. "She said it five times in a row. And he was nodding and saying, 'I love you too, honey." Lucie, meanwhile, was physically present for her father's last moments. "He died in my arms," she tragically recounted. "None of us realized it at the time, but the day they last spoke was Nov. 30, their wedding anniversary," she continued.