Introduction:
The world mourned the one-year anniversary of the death of Toby Keith recently.
The country music legend died back on Feb. 5, 2024 following a long battle with stomach cancer, and there have been plenty of tributes in the days since his passing. Also, testament to Keith and his work, is the reported fortune that he left behind to take care of his family.
Aside from his musical earnings, Keith had a number of successful business ventures, and that set him up quite nicely, according to every report out there. While the numbers are not specific, Taste of Country pointed to a 2013 Forbes article that called him “Country Music’s $500 Million Man.” There were also reports that his net worth was at $370 million at the time of his death.
Obviously, either number is significant, and while those are really just estimations, the final value of his state was significant enough that his wife, Tricia Covel, asked a judge in Oklahoma to seal records related to his estate. In Touch reported that court documents show that Covel said that all of Keith’s beneficiaries have agreed to “a partial distribution of Toby’s estate.”
But in the court filing Covel argued the value of the estate should not be left unsealed.
“This information, if known to the public, would likely increase the threat to safety and security of the Personal Representative and the heirs,” the filing reportedly claims.
In Touch said she also claimed that she and the family have been “under constant threats for their safety and security” for years.
Outside of the understandable safety concerns she also reportedly claimed in the filings that allowing the value of the estate to be known “will likely invite undue and unnecessary harassment upon the family and an invasion of privacy all of which outweighs the public’s interest of accessing the information in the public record or knowing this information.”
In Touch reported the judge agreed and sealed the information.
Good for Keith’s family.
And, good on Keith for obviously leaving his loved ones in a situation where they will be financially comfortable moving forward.