Candy Spelling Inherited A Fortune After Her Husband Aaron's Death

Candy Spelling was married to television mogul Aaron Spelling for nearly 40 years before he died in 2006. The legendary TV producer, best known for megahit shows such as "Charlie's Angels," "The Love Boat," "Dynasty," and "Beverly Hills 90210," made millions during his long career in Hollywood, and during the height of his fame in the late 1980s, he built "The Manor." Featuring 56,000 square feet of living space, the famously over-the-top Holmby Hills, California estate housed Spelling's family of four and a full staff. 

The house was so big that Spelling's daughter Tori once admitted that she never saw every room. During a 2022 episode of her "90210MG" podcast, Tori revealed that the massive mansion featured a barbershop, arcade, doll room, bowling alley, and two gift-wrapping rooms.

Candy Spelling always appreciated the lifestyle that her husband provided for her. "I had my Prince Charming," Spelling told The New York Times in 2014. "I had the sweetest, nicest man that anyone would want to be married to." He was also one of the richest, and when he passed away, his widow inherited an eye-popping net worth.

Before she met Aaron Spelling in 1965, Candy Marer was working as a clerk at a clothing store called Jax, as she told Vanity Fair in 2009. Forty years after their first meeting, Mrs. Spelling had a net worth of nearly 600 million dollars. In 2006, Spelling inherited her husband's entire estate, according to Celebrity Net Worth, minus $800,000 each for their two grown kids.

The $598,400,000 inheritance included multiple real estate properties and the late television producer's syndication royalties. Spelling also had a retort for those who questioned why her husband left so little of his fortune to their kids. "I had nothing to do with Aaron's will," Spelling insisted to Vanity Fair. "What he wrote in his will I was not privy to."

Spelling's fortune did not all come from her husband. She is a Tony Award-winning producer and bestselling author and has also produced and starred in several television shows on her own, per her official website. She also made a pretty penny when she sold The Manor for $85 million in 2011. Spelling's decision to sell the Manor was not an easy one, but she knew it had to be done. "It's just too big for one person," she told CNBC of the 56,000 square-foot space in 2010. She also revealed that her house sale would be pure profit. "There never was a mortgage. My husband didn't believe in mortgages," she said.

Candy Spelling had previously teased her desire to downsize in her 2009 book "Stories From Candyland."  After revealing that she had a 17,000-square-foot attic that housed 59 boxes of Easter decorations and 180 boxes of Christmas décor, she shared that she was ready to "downsize" to a space no bigger than her attic – which was still pretty big. "I'm trying to be mature as I tell myself, and anyone who'll listen, that it's time to downsize," she wrote (via ABC News). "I know people make fun of me for saying I'm downsizing to 17,000 square feet. That's a very large home, and I'm grateful to be able to have it."

Spelling relocated to a posh $35 million, two-floor penthouse in the Century City, California high-rise building The Century, per The Hollywood Reporter. In 2014, The New York Times reported that as part of her downsize, Spelling had gotten rid of her prized doll collection and much of the china and decor that was once stored at The Manor. She also stopped employing a chef and a butler.

But some things remained the same. During a 2022 appearance on the "Behind the Velvet Rope With David Yontef" podcast, Spelling was asked if her condo has a gift wrapping room — and sure enough, that's one space she refused to give up. "Yes, it does," Spelling said. "It's a small one, but it does."