On June 8, the world lost one of its most iconic and beloved celebrity chefs and television show hosts, Anthony Bourdain.
The 61-year-old was in France working on an upcoming episode for the 11th season of his CNN show Parts Unknown when he was found unresponsive in his hotel room.
The network confirmed that his cause of death was suicide by hanging and that it was his close friend and fellow celebrity chef Eric Ripert that discovered him.
"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," CNN said in a statement. "His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller. His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time."
In addition to being a successful chef and author, Bourdain was a proud father to his 11-year-old daughter, Ariane.
Bourdain had a very special relationship with Ariane, and he always made a point to bring her up to people around him, in his books, and during interviews.
"Fatherhood has been an enormous relief, as I am now genetically, instinctually compelled to care more about someone other than myself," he wrote in his book Appetites: A Cookbook. "I like being a father. No, I love being a father. Everything about it."
In his final interview with People, which took place in February, the expert foodie admitted that the young girl was his motivation to keep on living.
"I also do feel I have things to live for. There have been times, honestly, in my life that I figured, "˜I've had a good run"”why not just do this stupid thing, this selfish thing... jump off a cliff into water of indeterminate depth.'" He added, "In retrospect, I don't know that I would do that today "” now that I'm a dad or reasonably happy."
He also revealed that when his job started to get in between him and his daughter, he made some major changes so he could spend more time with her. Bourdain made sure he never shot episodes of his CNN series in two cities back-to-back so he could spend at least five days out of the month with Ariane, who lives in New York with her mother, Bourdain's ex-wife Ottavia Busia.
Sadly, his demons were too all too powerful and in the end, he wasn't able to keep hanging on for the sake of his daughter.
Ariane, who has shown nothing but strength since her father's passing, was spotted performing at DROM, a music venue in New York City, just days after her dad's tragic passing.
"Our little girl had her concert today. She was amazing. So strong and brave. She wore the boots you bought her," Busia captioned the Instagram post, drawing attention to the pair of studded black boots she was wearing. "I hope you are having a good trip, wherever you are."
Now, Ariane is back in the news after New York Daily News obtained court documents about her father's finances and who will be inheriting his fortune.
Despite reports that he had a $16 million fortune, the legal papers showed that his net worth was actually $1.21 million.
Many people on social media were shocked to learn that the Peabody Award-winner's estate wasn't nearly has big as suspected.
"I'm shocked he wasn't worth more than that," wrote one Facebook user. Another replied, "Google him, and you'll find out why he didn't have more money. He was in his mid 40's before he started making anything, he lived paycheck to paycheck, and had a lot of debt. It's actually a really good read, check it out!!"
The documents, which were filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court, revealed that the chef had $425,000 in "cash and savings," $250,000 in "personal property," $500,000 in "intangible property including royalties and residuals," and $35,000 in a brokerage account.
In the will, which was written in 2016, Bourdain chose his daughter to inherit the majority of his estate and her mother as the executor.
Although Bourdain was in a relationship with model Asia Argento at the time of his death, his divorce with Busia was not finalized. He stipulated that his ex-wife is to receive all of his "personal and household effects," including his frequent flyer miles, which she is "to dispose of in accordance with what (she) believes to have been my wishes."
Some people raised concerns about Ariane potentially blowing through the money before she's old enough.
"Lets hope she has good people to help her with it and she doesn't blow it all once she turns 18 or 21," wrote a concerned Facebook user. "Maybe give her a allowance until she is mature enough to handle it say 25 or 28 maybe."
Another wrote, "I hope they start showing re-runs so she can get some royalties income. If it works that way? One can hope. That's a great amount to get her through to college with a nest egg. She will be OK. I hope her heart heals by then too 💔"
Turns out, there's really no need to worry. Since Ariane is a minor, she won't have direct access to the fortune just yet. The court will chose a guardian to "safeguard" her inheritance until she becomes an adult.
While her father made sure she would be financially stable for years to come, many people commented that the amount of money she inherited doesn't matter because it won't bring her father back.
"Believe me when I say, no amount of money will allow this girl to live a normal life," read one comment. "My Dad left me everything when he committed suicide & it means absolutely nothing. Hopefully, she'll be able to get some help in dealing with this. 💔ðŸ˜"
"My daughters dad committed suicide when she was 12. He made sure she was taken care of. MONEY MEANS NOTHING! What my daughter suffered because of his actions. I would put no amount of money on her suffering!" another user echoed this sentiment .
Bourdain's will also revealed that most of his fortune would've gone to Ariane's nanny, Myra Quizon, had she died before her father. The paperwork also showed that Bourdain has a $1.1 million mortgage under his name, but details about the property weren't specified.
When you think of all the other celebrities who have left their children out of their wills, it's nice to know that Bourdain's daughter will inherit his fortune without a legal fight.
Here's how other celebrity dads handled their wills:
Glen Campbell Excluded Some Of His Children From His Will, And A Legal Battle Is Brewing
Jerry Lewis Left A Parting Message For His Children In His Will, And It's Not Pretty
