Highlights
- Sonny Bono, Cher's first husband, left his estate without making a will, causing complications for his ex-wives, children, and others.
- Bono's estate was ultimately split between his two eldest children and his widow at the time, who was the mother of his two younger children.
- Cher has filed multiple lawsuits against Bono's estate, claiming unpaid alimony and half of the royalties from their recorded music, but it is unlikely she will receive millions.
After decades of touring and releasing music, Cher has become one of the most successful singers in history. A true legend, many of Cher's fans are also fascinated by her love life which is why they want to know about her husbands and the often-forgotten fact that she dated Tom Cruise.
No matter how many people Cher has been involved with, she will still always be associated with her first husband, Sonny Bono. After Bono tragically passed away following a horrific skiing accident, many fans were left wondering if Cher cashed in.
Who Did Sonny Bono Leave His Estate To?
By the time Sonny Bono passed away, he was only 62 years old. Even though Bono was relatively young when he took his last breath, he still accomplished far more in life than the vast majority of people ever will.
After Bono became a music star alongside his wife at the time, Cher, the duo went on to be all-around entertainers. When Bono wasn't busy recording music or performing with Cher, they starred in TV's The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
In 1975, Bono and Cher's marriage ended which largely put an end to his success in the music industry. However, Bono would go on to work semi-consistently as an actor in the years that followed which is a transition that many performers fail to make.
Most notably, Bono landed guest roles in a long list of different TV shows that were popular. Bono also notably had a small role in one of the most popular spoof comedy movies of all time, Airplane
During the late-'80s, Bono started a new phase in his career. After running to become the Mayor of Palm Springs, Bono surprised many observers by being elected to public office and serving from 1988 until 1992.
Not through with his political career, Bono would go on to run to serve in the United States House of Representatives. After winning his election in California's 44th district, Bono served in office from January 1995 until January 1998.
The only reason that Bono ceased representing the people of California in 1998 is because he passed away when he was in office. When a special election was run to replace Bono, his widow Mary Bono won the primary and ultimately his seat in the house. Mary Bono would go on to serve in the House from 1998 until 2013.
In Bono's roles as the Mayor of Palm Springs and in the House of Representatives, he had to be responsible to his constituents. If Bono was good in that role, he needed to be able to show ability and forethought to make decisions that would pay off in the long run.
Given Bono's political career, it was surprising to learn that he didn't think far enough ahead in his personal life. After Bono passed away in 1998 at 62 years old, the truth about who he left his estate to garnered headlines and caused a lot of problems.
Even though Bono had four children, four ex-wives, made a lot of money in his life, and was in his sixties, he never made a will. As a result, Bono didn't leave anything to his ex-wife Cher, or anyone else for that matter.
Did Cher Get Millions From Sonny Bono's Estate?
According to reports, Sonny Bono intended to make a will before he passed away, but he just never got around to it. If Bono understood how big of a problem that would turn out to be, he almost certainly would have made time no matter what.
Since Bono had four children, three ex-wives, and was married at the time of his passing, many people could make a claim to his estate. Amazingly enough, things became even more complicated than that when someone else came forward claiming to be Bono's secret love child.
Ultimately, the supposed secret love child would drop his lawsuit and everyone else involved reached an agreement. After negotiations, Bono's estate reportedly was split between Bono's two eldest children and his wife at the time of his passing who was the mother of his two younger children.
Even after that agreement was reached, that wasn't the end of the battles over Bono's estate. Surprisingly, Bono's estate has been sued by his second ex-wife, Cher, for significant amounts of money on two separate occasions.
Considering that Cher's only child with Bono, Chaz Bono, was one of the beneficiaries of Bono's estate, it seems surprising that the famous singer sued to get a piece of it. After all, according to Celebrity Net Worth, Bono's estate is worth $4 million and Cher has a $360 million fortune.
Cher filed the first of the two lawsuits shortly after her ex-husband passed away. According to that lawsuit, Bono was ordered to pay Cher alimony following the former couple's 1974 divorce, and he never forked over the money.
When Cher filed this lawsuit, she asked for $1.6 million from Bono's estate. Unfortunately, there is no way to know if Cher won this lawsuit as there aren't any reports about the outcome. That said, if Cher won that kind of money from Bono's estate, it seems all but certain that would have garnered headlines.
Many years later in 2021, Cher sued to get money from Bono's estate once again. In Cher's 2021 lawsuit, she named Bono's widow Mary Bono as the defendant as she sought $1 million from her.
According to Cher's more recent lawsuit, she is entitled to half the royalties from the music that she and Bono recorded together. Despite Cher's claim that she and Bono agreed to split the royalties evenly when they got divorced, she claims Mary Bono hasn't lived up to that deal.
In response to Cher's lawsuit, Mary Bono asked the court to throw the whole matter out of court. In March 2023, a judge refused to entirely throw out Cher's lawsuit as Mary Bono requested. However, the judge partially sided with Mary Bono by ruling that Cher had no claim over some of the royalty payments Mary Bono had received.
As of the time of this writing, Cher and Mary Bono's current legal battle is still working its way through the system. While that means that there is no way to know if Cher will prevail, the fact that part of her lawsuit was thrown out makes it very likely she won't win $1 million.
Based on what is currently known about Cher's involvement in Sonny Bono's estate, there is virtually no chance she has gotten millions. Furthermore, it seems very clear that Cher almost certainly never will.
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