Celebrity Estate Planning - Estate of George Foreman - Episode 231
- Jenny Rozelle, Host of Legal Tea
- 22 hours ago
- 7 min read
Hey there, Legal Tea Listeners! This is your host, Jenny Rozelle. We are here for episode 231 –and we are circling back to an “estate planning of the rich and famous” episode where we chat about celebrities or high profile folks and their estate planning (or lack thereof!). Today’s episode is on George Foreman – George Foreman is a legendary American former professional boxer and two-time world heavyweight champion who gained fame as an Olympic gold medalist and for his historic "Rumble in the Jungle" bout against Muhammad Ali. Beyond the ring, he became a highly successful entrepreneur and media personality, most notably as the namesake and spokesperson for the globally recognized George Foreman Grill. As we always do on these episodes, let’s get into a little bit about George personally, then dive in this estate and what happened estate-wise following his death.
According to Biography.com, George was born in January1949, in Marshall, Texas and grew up in Houston's Fifth Ward in difficult circumstances. After a troubled childhood, George took up amateur boxing and won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Turning professional the next year, he won the world heavyweight title with a wild second-round knockout of the then-undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973. At just 24 years old, "Big George" had become one of the most feared punchers in boxing history. He successfully defended his title twice before facing his first professional loss in what would become one of the most famous fights of all time.
In "The Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974, George suffered his first professional loss to Muhammad Ali, losing the heavyweight championship in an eighth-round knockout. After several more fights, George lost in a decision to Jimmy Young in 1977. According to his website, GeorgeForeman.com, it was in his dressing room after that fight where George had a religious experience that changed his life forever. He gave up boxing, was ordained a minister in 1978 and began preaching in his hometown of Houston, while founding the George Foreman Youth and Community Center. After a decade away from the ring, George made one of sports' most remarkable comebacks, returning to boxing in 1987 at age 38. On November 5, 1994, he became the oldest world heavyweight champion in history at 46 years and 169 days old, more than 20 years after winning his first title. He retired in 1997 at the age of 48, with a final record of 76 wins (68 knockouts) and 5 losses, according to his Wikipedia page.
Beyond boxing, Foreman became the spokesman for the George Foreman Grill. According to Celebrity Net Worth, George’s net worth was estimated at $300 million at the time of his death, according to Biography.com, with Salton, which is an appliance company, paying him $138 million in 1999 for the right to use his name, yielding an estimated total of over $200 million from the endorsement—substantially more than he earned as a boxer.
More personally speaking, George was married five times, most recently to his widow, Mary Joan Martelly, whom he married in 1985. His previous marriages to Adrienne Calhoun, Cynthia Lewis, Sharon Goodson, and Andrea Skeete all ended in divorce. Foreman had twelve children in total—five sons and seven daughters. In one of his most famous personal quirks, all five of his sons are named George Edward Foreman. There’s your fun fact for the day! … pause George died on March 21, 2025, at the age of 76. His family announced that he "peacefully departed" surrounded by loved ones in a Houston hospital. No official cause of death has been disclosed by the family, who requested privacy while honoring his memory. So, after he passed away – now shifting to his estate and estate plan…
Interestingly, it can be assumed that George had an estate plan, but not a ton is known about it. We saw that in Betty White’s estate (and the episode I did on her), I think on Paul Walker too… I searched high and low looking for a reference to a Will or Trust, but nothing much is out there. That typically means two things 1) he had a solid estate plan and 2) no one really fought to drag the estate plan into a courtroom. Which that makes sense because his family kept George’s death and all the estate details pretty private. What we do know is that George left behind a massive fortune—around $300 million—and most of that came from the grill, not from his boxing career. Though, some would argue his boxing career put him “on the map” to have a deal/brand like the grill. Anyway…
When you think about what his estate attorneys had to deal with, it's kind of mind-boggling. George was married five times, had twelve kids (eleven were still living when he did), and built this whole business empire with royalty deals and licensing agreements and all that. One of the trickiest parts was figuring out what to do with the George Foreman brand itself. And we are not just talking about houses or bank accounts here—we are talking about ongoing royalty checks from grills, intellectual property rights, commercial deals, the whole nine yards.
You may be wondering about the grills – and if it’s held in a business that the family is managing or what. Well… interestingly, I semi-alluded to it earlier when I talked about Salton, the appliance company. So, George actually doesn't own the brand anymore and hasn't for over a long time. Back in 1999, Salton paid George $138 million to acquire the full rights to use his name and likeness in perpetuity, according to PBS. So when George died in March 2025, there was no "George Foreman Grill business" to pass down to his family because George did not actually own a grill business—he was a spokesman for a company now called Spectrum Brands, which designed, manufactured, and distributed the George Foreman Grill. That make sense? Spectrum Brands acquired the George Foreman Grill brand when it merged with Russell Hobbs, Inc. back in 2010, and they've been manufacturing and selling the grills ever since. So today, Spectrum Brands is the one cranking out George Foreman Grills. All of that to be said, George's estate did not control the manufacturing or distribution. What George's family likely inherited is whatever royalty or licensing streams are still coming in from that deal (if there is any royalties -we don’t know that for sure either, but I’d be surprised if there weren’t).
Estate planning attorneys and experts say that his plan needed to be crystal clear for several reasons, or the family could have ended up in a courtroom fighting for years. One example, that I mentioned earlier, is that—five of George's sons are all named George Edward Foreman. So, he could not just say "my son George gets this"—he needed to be super specific about which George he was talking about. Then there's the whole multiple marriages thing. George was divorced four times before his final marriage to Mary Joan, and with estate planning, that can get complicated if there is alimony or divorce arrangements that his estate needed to abide by. Like, he needed to make sure all those old divorce decrees are dealt with, that he removed ex-spouses from beneficiary designations on various assets, and that there aren't any weird support obligations hiding in paperwork from years ago. Usually alimony stops when someone dies, but sometimes divorce agreements actually require you to keep paying support from beyond the grave—so with all of this, you can see how he could have so easily gotten tripped up, but it appears he did not. Good for him!
It's kind of an interesting episode to do because we don’t know much at all – and honestly, that’s solid estate planning right there. When, me, Jenny Rozelle, can’t find details – you’ve done well. So, let’s go over some parting thoughts/takeaways that are relevant to all of us…
George's estate plan is basically a case study in how complicated things can get, whether you've got serious money like George or not, especially with a complex family situation. So what can we take away from his estate plan? First off, if you've been married more than once, you absolutely need to go through every single account you have and update who gets what when you die. Bank accounts, retirement funds, life insurance—all of it. It is SO easy to forget that your ex from 1985 is still listed as the beneficiary on something you set up decades ago.
Second, if you own a business or have any kind of intellectual property—whether that's a grill empire or just a small side hustle—you need to spell out exactly what happens to it when you're gone. Who runs it? Who gets the income? Who makes decisions? Don't leave your family or beneficiaries guessing. Third, if you've got a big blended family like George did, think about whether "equal" really means "fair" in your situation. Maybe one kid needs more help than the others. Maybe one is already set. Maybe one is passionate about continuing something you built and another couldn't care less. It is okay to recognize those differences in your planning. And finally, here's the real lesson from George's story: The biggest legacy you leave is not the dollar amount. It is whether you made things clear and easy for the people you love, or whether you left them with a mess to sort out while they're grieving. Whether your estate is worth $300 million like George's or $300,000, the same rules apply—plan ahead, get professional help, and communicate with your family about what you want. That's how you really take care of the people who matter most.
Alrighty, let’s wrap this one up and shift to a sneak peak at next week. Next week we’re back to a “cautionary tale” episode where we talk about real-life clients, real-life cases that I, or my office, have worked on -or- maybe they are just generally good things to know/be aware of so you don’t slip up and turn into a cautionary tale one day. In next week’s episode, we are going to talk about something that I meant to discuss a few weeks ago, but something else took it’s place – so if you pieced it together that I said we’d be talking the next week about something, then I didn’t – you’re good! For all those that missed it, NEXT week is going to be kind of a “survivor’s guide” for family or a spouse after passing away. I am seeing a lot of talk and seeing in my own practice a lot of scrambling going on after someone passed away, so we are going to talk about what you can do proactively to set your spouse or family up for success. Alrighty, Legal Tea Listeners, that is it for today - until next week, take care and be well!
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