How Anthony Bourdain’s Estate Plan Reflected the Two Most Important Parts of His Life

Anthony Bourdain made headlines again this week when his will was filed in a Manhattan court and the public realized that the jet-setting chef had an estate that was “only” worth $1.2 million. But with that amount of money to leave behind, Bourdain was still in the top 3% of Americans in terms of wealth. The man was a success, and lived his life the way he wanted, and his will revealed that.

Bourdain made sure that the person he loved the most, his young daughter, was well protected with his estate plan. But a surprising attribute of the chef’s will was the bequeathing of his frequent flier miles to his estranged wife. Many people overlook their miles, even though 68% of Americans currently own a credit card that accrue them.

Anthony Bourdain’s will truly reflected the man that he was. “In his estate plan, his final message isn’t about bonds and stocks but about continuing to feed one’s curiosity and taking care of those you love. To him, that was perhaps the most valuable legacy he could share.”

See Megan Gorman, How Anthony Bourdain’s Estate Plan Reflected the Two Most Important Parts of His Life, Forbes, July 6, 2018.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.