Annual Revenue of 20 Billion Won from a Single Drama... Where Will Unmarried Matthew Perry's Estate Go?

No Spouse or Children in Lifetime, Inheritance Likely to Parents
Possibility of Donations for Alcohol and Drug Addiction

Following the death of Hollywood actor Matthew Perry last month, reports have emerged that he earned over 20 billion won annually from rerun royalties of his iconic show 'Friends,' drawing attention to the inheritance of the unmarried Perry.

Hollywood actor Matthew Perry. [Photo by Matthew Perry SNS capture]

On the 5th (local time), U.S. financial media CNBC and others reported that Perry earned an annual income of $20 million (approximately 26.2 billion won) from TV reruns and streaming platform broadcasts of the sitcom 'Friends.'

However, foreign media noted that Warner Bros., which owns the distribution rights to 'Friends,' refused to confirm the rerun royalties paid to the actors.

Citing explanations from financial and trust experts, foreign media explained that Perry's substantial income from 'Friends' reruns could go to his surviving parents under California inheritance law.

This is because Perry was never married and is known to have had no children during his lifetime.

If the parents renounce the inheritance, Perry's siblings would share the estate.

On the other hand, there is also speculation that Perry may have decided to donate his inheritance to charity during his lifetime.

After suffering an accident during filming in 1997 and becoming addicted to medication during treatment, Perry battled alcohol and drug addiction throughout his life. At one point, he opened and operated a facility for sobriety at his Malibu beachfront home west of Los Angeles (LA), and also pursued establishing a foundation to support addiction issues.

Therefore, it is possible that Perry made prior arrangements to leave his estate to external organizations to support charitable activities that help addicts with rehabilitation until the end.

In an interview last year, Perry said, "I know that when I die, people will talk a lot about Friends," but he also expressed, "I am happy to have had solid works as an actor, but I hope that when I die, Friends will be listed far behind the things I tried to do to help others, so-called my achievements."

Perry, who was loved for playing 'Chandler Bing' among the six main characters in Friends, was found dead at his home in LA on the 28th of last month. He was 54 years old. The exact cause of Perry's death will be announced after toxicology tests and an autopsy are completed by the LA County Coroner's Office.

On the 3rd, Perry's funeral was held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park near Hollywood, LA. It was reported that his Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer all gathered for the funeral.

'Friends' - A Worldwide Hit Aired from 1994 to 2004

Matthew Perry (left) and the main cast of 'Friends.'
[Photo by NBC]

Friends, which aired on NBC in the United States from 1994 to 2004, is a work that comically depicts the love and friendship of six young friends living in New York, gaining worldwide popularity.

Even now, long after its initial broadcast, it remains ranked among the popular content on major U.S. streaming platforms.

Foreign media quoted a company spokesperson explaining that since Friends was released on HBO Max streaming service in May 2020, it has consistently ranked within the top 10 most-watched content each week.

Friends streaming rights were held by Netflix from 2015 to 2019 before being taken over by HBO Max.

Additionally, Friends is currently broadcast on about 100 local TV channels in the U.S., with up to 140 episodes aired weekly on cable networks such as TBS and Nickelodeon, foreign media explained.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.