Courtney Love Already 'Lost About $27 Million' Of Her 'Nirvana Money'

Publish date: 2024-06-15

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Courtney Love is worth an estimated $150 million, thanks in part to the ownership stake in Nirvana that she inherited when husband Kurt Cobain died.

After Cobain committed suicide in 1994, Love inherited his writing and publishing rights which were valued at $130 and $115 million, respectively. In 2006, Love “finally and officially” sold 25% of her share of Nirvana’s publishing rights.

But in a new interview with the UK's Sunday Times, the 50-year-old rocker reveals, "I lost about $27 million" of "Nirvana money."

"I know that's a lifetime of money to most people, but I'm a big girl," Love explained. "It's rock 'n roll, it's Nirvana money, I had to let it go. I make enough to live on, I'm financially solvent, I focus on what I make now."

Love says that the majority of lost millions went towards settling several lawsuits over the years, including a legal battle between Love and the surviving members of Nirvana over the band's unreleased material and a Twitter defamation suit.

Love's daughter, Frances Bean, will become a member of the board that controls Nirvana's catalogue when she turns 40. Katy Winn/Getty Images

Love, who is estranged from her daughter Frances Bean, also sets straight rumors that the 21-year-old has executive control over the Nirvana brand.

"There's this myth out there — put out by Frances' lawyers — that Frances runs the catalogue, which is absolute nonsense," Love revealed. "When she's 40, she becomes a member of the board and she has a vote, but not now."

In the meantime, Love says she is preserving the Nirvana song catalog from becoming too commercial or cheesy. 

"I've protected it [the Nirvana catalogue] from everything from Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials to movies about board games," Love told the paper, as reported by UsWeekly. "We've been offered $6 million for 18 seconds of one Nirvana song and I turned it down."

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