Rolf Harris’ massive £16million fortune will mostly go to his daughter Bindi – but a change made before he died added his long-time personal assistant Linda Ratcliff.
The change to the will of the entertainer and convicted paedophile was made just before he died aged 93 in May 2023.
His estate included his paintings, which had been valued at £12million before he was convicted in 2014 of sexual offences on four female victims, some of whom were children.
Ms Ratcliff will be given sole responsibility for the paintings.
Harris’ friend William Merritt said of Ms Ratcliff: “She was fiercely protective of him and pretty much managed his entire life, from his carers to deciding to whom or whether he should give interviews, and taking him to his appointments.
“Bindi is a lovely woman but couldn’t manage the care of her mother and father herself and leant increasingly on Lisa.
“Rolf before his death made Lisa an executor to his estate and said he put Lisa in charge of his paintings – before his court convictions they were worth around £12 million ($A22m).
“The paintings would have gone down in value since his convictions – some of them used to sell for up to £125,000 ($A240,000) or more apiece. Rolf was up there with Hirst and Picasso.”
Ms Ratcliff, 53, began working closely with Harris in 2000 under his manager at the time, then-theatrical agent Jan Kennedy.
Mr Merritt claimed that Ms Ratcliff was now solely in charge of Mr Harris’ paintings.
His fortune also included the $7 million Berkshire riverside mansion, where his wife Alwen, 91, lives with 24-hour care.
She is gravely ill with Alzheimer’s, and also uses a wheelchair.
The disgraced entertainer died at his home on May 10, but his death was not announced for several days to allow his family time to grieve in private.
According to his death certificate, he died of neck cancer and “frailty of old age”, and would be cremated.
While in prison, he pocketed a $1.8 million payout after the break-up of his business empire, Rolf Harris Enterprises, and accumulated royalties and other assets.
Harris was freed from jail in 2017 for a string of sex offences including children as young as eight.
His family said in a statement when he died: “This is to confirm that Rolf Harris recently died peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest.
“They ask that you respect their privacy. No further comment will be made.”
