Merv Griffin

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Merv Griffin

Age: 72

Net Worth: $900 million

Source of Wealth: Television, hotels, real estate

Residence: Beverly Hills

For a $1,000-a-week singer whose first major hit song was “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts” in 1950, Merv Griffin has come a long way.

He first became a millionaire after taking an ownership position in his syndicated talk show. But in 1986, Columbia Pictures really turned his life around by paying him $250 million for “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune,” the two wildly successful game shows that he created and produced.

Today, Griffin, who lives at his Beverly Hilton Hotel, manages a far-flung empire. His hotels include the Wickenberg Inn and Scottsdale Hilton in Arizona, the Blue Moon in Miami’s trendy South Beach, the Givenchy Hotel and Spa in Palm Springs and St. Clarans, John Huston’s old home in Galway, Ireland.

He still keeps his hand in television as the executive producer of his two long-running game shows. He also runs Merv Griffin Productions, which develops film and TV projects.

Griffin, who owns a $20 million private jet and a $7 million yacht, also operates La Merveille Cie, a joint venture with Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia for perfumes and beauty products that are sold on QVC.

Griffin’s real estate holdings include a vineyard in Northern California and the Merv Griffin Ranch Co. that also breeds horses. Griffin also has a large share of Players International, which owns riverboat casinos in Illinois and Louisiana. In 1996, Griffin merged his Resorts International with Sun International Hotels, a $1.5 billion public company.

Still a showman, Griffin will release his first album in 20 years later this year.

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