Michael Landon's 9 Kids Inherited Millions: Where Are They Now?

Michael Landon became an iconic TV dad in "Little House on the Prairie," but he had a sizable brood IRL, too. Michael had a whopping nine kids, which might easily have caused tensions when it came to dividing up his estate. However, his widow said he'd made provision for that, and decades later, his kids have made their own way in the world. 

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Michael would have been worth around $40 million in today's terms at the time of his death. That meant there was more than enough to go around for the loved ones he left behind, and according to People, he'd planned for each one of his children to inherit roughly $8 million to $10 million (via Yahoo! Finance). Of course, even with numbers like that, there's always the potential for infighting between heirs, but Michael was said to have planned for that as well, and specifically stipulated that anyone who questioned or tried to change their portion would lose their inheritance outright. That's one way to do it!

Of course, $8 million is no small change, and while they probably wouldn't have been able to live lavishly for the rest of their lives on that alone, Michael's children would certainly have been able to pursue their real passions knowing they had an enviable safety net. Suffice it to say, they did just that. His sons Mark Landon (who sadly passed away in 2009), Michael Landon Jr., Christopher Landon, and daughter Jennifer Landon (yes, of "Yellowstone") went into the film and TV business, while his daughter Cheryl Landon became a writer. Leslie Landon, meanwhile, earned a PhD in psychology, and both Shawna Landon and Sean Landon went into real estate. As for Josh Landon, not much is known about him, and unlike his dad and siblings, he doesn't have a public career. 

Among Michael Landon's kids who have decided to have more public careers, many of them have continued to speak about him in the decades since his passing. Both of Cheryl Landon's books have been about her famous father, the first being the 1992 "I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portrait of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter." In 2001, she released another book, "Michael Landon's Legacy: 7 Keys to Supercharging Your Life."

In the years between Cheryl's books, Michael Landon Jr. also produced content about his dad in the form of the 1999 film "Michael Landon, The Father I Knew." Michael Jr. used the film to explore the strain he experienced with his dad after his affair and how he ultimately came to understand his dad at a deeper level shortly before he passed away. He's continued to work in the industry and co-created Hallmark's "When Calls the Heart." Like we said, though, he's not the only one who went into showbiz, and in addition to Jennifer Landon's success as Teeter on "Yellowstone" and other projects like "As the World Turns," Christopher Landon has written a number of the "Paranormal Activity" films and other horror movies. Though Leslie Landon pursued a career in psychology, she had been cast for "Little House on the Prairie" as a child and continues to draw attention to her father's legacy at television festivals and other events. 

Wrapping things up with the real estate-minded Landons, Sean made Forbes headlines in 2018 when he was the agent for his mom's Malibu beach home, which she'd purchased to move on from the shared family home, but decided against. Today, he has a group under Douglas Elliman Real Estate. As for Shawna Landon, she has shifted her attention to grief education since the heartbreaking death of her son.