At the time of his death, Celebrity Net Worth says that “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry was worth about $500 million. Much of this was non-liquid, however, wrapped up in “Star Trek” as an intellectual property — his liquid assets were about $67.8 million in 2023 money. The Los Angeles Times said that each of Roddenberry’s three children would receive $500,000 each, as well as one-quarter of the money generated by the entire “Star Trek” empire. The University of Michigan’s Law Review says that Roddenberry also wanted each of them to inherit part of Majel Barret-Roddenberry’s trust when she died. This means that at the time of Roddenberry’s death, the vast majority of his money went directly to Barret-Roddenberry.
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That would have been the end of the story if not for his daughter Dawn. She believed that her mother-in-law had inveigled her way into the family fortune and manipulated Roddenberry into giving her his money. The Los Angeles Times reports that Dawn also said her father had been mentally “incompetent” when he drafted his will. Dawn compiled her case for two years but dismissed it on the very day she was supposed to appear in court. Barret-Roddenberry, however, wasn’t having it. Citing her husband’s “in terrorem” clause, she sued Dawn. Dawn defended herself by saying that she never actually brought her case to court. In the end, though, the judge sided with Barret-Roddenberry and cut Dawn out of Roddenberry’s will.
