British Media personality and DJ, Jimmy Savile made an impressive fortune. How much he was worth when he died and how he made his money explored.
Jimmy Savile died on October 29, 2011, in Roundhay, Leeds, United Kingdom, at age 84, just two days before his 85th birthday.
His cause was pneumonia, and his death was not suspicious.
He was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery with an elaborate headstone that reportedly cost £4,000 and featured the predator smiling and giving a double thumbs up, per Yahoo News.
The media personality was not only known as one of the biggest names on British TV but he was wealthy before he died.
Here’s what we know about Jimmy Savile’s net worth, how he made his money, and who inherited his wealth.
Profile Summary
| Celebrated Name: | Jimmy Savile |
| Net Worth: | $10 million |
| Profession: | Presenter, Disc jockey, Radio Personality |
| Full Real Name: | James Wilson Vincent Savile |
| Date of Birth: | October 31, 1926 |
| Birthplace: | Leeds, United Kingdom |
| Nationality: | British |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.74 m) |
Who was Jimmy Savile?
Jimmy Savile (real name: Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE KCSG) was born on October 31, 1926, in Leeds, United Kingdom.
His parents’ names are Agnes Monica Savile (mother) and Vincent Joseph Marie Savile (father).
He was not an only child to his mom and dad as they had seven children, meaning Jimmy had five siblings. His sisters and brothers are John Savile, Christina Savile, Joan Savile, Mary Savile, Marjory Savile, and Vincent Savile.
By profession, Savile was an English media personality and DJ.
Before getting into a career in the entertainment industry, he survived serious spinal injuries while working in a coal mine as a “Bevin Boy” during the Second World War.
Saville moved into radio in the late 1950s at Radio Luxembourg before joining BBC Radio One as a presenter.
In 1964 he presented the first ever Top Of The Pops and continued to make appearances on the show for decades.
More TV work followed, including the kids’ show Jim’ll Fix It.
Some of his broadcasts drew audiences of 20 million.
During his lifetime, Savile was well-known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image and charitable work.
He particularly made more donations to the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where he volunteered for many years as a porter.
It is now believed that Savile sexually abused vulnerable patients here and at other hospitals.
Horrifyingly, he was the face of childhood safety campaigns and even a pamphlet called Stranger Danger, which warned children to be wary of suspicious adults.
He was awarded the OBE in 1971 and was knighted in 1990 but this was removed posthumously due to his criminal records.
What was Jimmy Savile’s net worth?
Jimmy Savile, one of the biggest names on British TV from the 1960s to the 1990s, made an impressive career when he was alive.
By reports, he had an estimated net worth of $10 million. His estate was worth £3.3m, after expenses. Most of his money was accrued from his career in the entertainment industry as a presenter, disc jockey, radio personality, and dance hall manager, as well as other endeavors.
Two of the most notable shows he starred in at the beginning of his career were BBC’s Jim’ll Fix It and Top of the Pops. Before BBC took him on, Jimmy served as a DJ at Radio Luxembourg in 1958.
Jimmy released the single “Ahab the Arab” in 1962, and he published the books “As it Happens” (1974) and “God’ll Fix It” (1979).
Savile was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (1972), a Knight Bachelor (1990), and a Knight Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Gregory the Great (1990).
Savile was renowned for fundraising and supporting numerous charities. He is estimated to have raised £40 million for charity, particularly Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
A few friends and relatives named in Savile’s will received small amounts of money but the bulk of his money went to the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust, which he had established in 1985, per a report by Examiner Live.
When he died, he was buried in a gold coffin filled with jewelry and cigars at a 45-degree angle so that he could have a view of the sea in death.
Even Savile’s headstone cost £4,000.
What were Jimmy Savile’s crimes?
Savile was exposed as a paedophile in 2012 and the following year a joint Scotland Yard and NSPCC report branded him one of the UK’s most prolific known sexual predators.
It’s estimated he sexually assaulted hundreds of women and children in a campaign of abuse lasting more than 50 years.
Operation Yewtree was launched after a flood of allegations in the wake of an ITV documentary screened in October 2012 exposed the late DJ as a paedophile.
It was then extended to include a host of other showbiz personalities suspected of child abuse.
Victims have told how TOTP host Savile raped or molested them in his BBC dressing room.
Others said they were abused when the once-revered entertainer visited schools, children’s homes, and hospitals under the cover of his prolific charity work.
During Operation Yewtree, cops discovered monster Savile had abused a patient at High Royds Hospital in West Yorkshire.
The assault took place during a fancy dress for i100th-anniversaryary celebrations, where the sicko also allegedly “groped staff’s breasts” and “put his hand up their skirts”.
Victims didn’t complain about the “dirty old man” because it was an “occupational hazard of being a woman” at the time, according to a report.
Spooky images show the inside of the abandoned unit for disturbed youngsters which closed in 2003.
A compensation scheme was set up for victims, which drew on the money he had in his estate before he died, and meant those named in his will received none of the bequeathed amounts.
How did Jimmy Savile escape detection?
A mixture of his celebrity status and police mistakes allowed the monster to get away with his crimes for his entire life.
He was questioned on several occasions but nothing ever came of the inquiries.
Seven police investigations were launched into Savile’s sexual activities before he died, but officers said that separate police forces across Britain were unable to connect the dots, partly because a national crime database did not come into operation until 2010.
Anne-Marie McAlinden, an expert on sexual abuse at Queen’s University Belfast, said Savile had used his influence to groom not just his victims but also anyone who might take a closer look at the suspicions around him.
She said: “Not only did he abuse his position of trust and authority, which was amplified because he was a celebrity but he also extended it to the whole organisation, to the BBC and even the press.”