Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 22, 2023.NIKKI BOERTMAN/Reuters
A public auction of Graceland estate has been stalled this week after actor Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis Presley and heir to Graceland, filed a lawsuit against a private investment company attempting to sell the property.
Lawsuits between the family and the holding companies for Graceland have been happening since 2023, with one side claiming unpaid debts and the other denying it.
Here’s what you need to know.
What is the lawsuit claiming?
In September, 2023, Naussany Investments & Private Lending filed a lawsuit against Keough’s late mother, Lisa Marie Presley, the former heir to the estate. It alleged that she owed an outstanding US$3.8-million loan, and had used Graceland as collateral, before her death in early 2023.
Keough and Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museums, allege that these claims are “fraudulent” and that documents regarding the September, 2023 loan are “forgeries.”
Both claim that Lisa-Marie Presley never borrowed money from or gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments, which the lawsuit labels as a “false entity created for the purpose of defrauding the Promenade Trust, the heirs of Lisa Marie Presley, or any purchaser of Graceland at a non-judicial sale.”
Actress Riley Keough attends the Vanity Fair 95th Oscars Party at the The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. on March 12, 2023. Keough, granddaughter of Elvis and heir to Graceland, filed a lawsuit against a private investment firm attempting to sell the property.MICHAEL TRAN
Who owns Graceland?
Actress Riley Keough, Lisa Marie’s eldest daughter, is now the sole trustee for her and her two sisters’ ownership of Graceland Mansion and its 13.8-acre grounds. Keough also has ownership over her grandfather Elvis Presley’s personal effects, which include costumes, awards, a car collection and heirlooms.
Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE), also quoted in the lawsuit against Naussany, is the corporate entity that was created by Lisa Marie’s Elvis Presley Trust. EPE manages Graceland’s operations, licensing and associated properties such as The Guest House at Graceland and the Graceland Archives that span the music legend’s career.
How much is Graceland worth?
While it is unclear exactly how much Graceland is worth today, Elvis bought the property in 1957 for US$102,500, which is an estimated US$1.1-million today. The property has faced cash-flow problems since Elvis’s death, with Graceland allegedly costing more than half-a-million dollars a year in maintenance and taxes. The property was opened up to the public in 1982 to balance the costs with estate tours and exhibitions.
Is Graceland being foreclosed?
A public notice for a foreclosure sale of the Graceland estate posted earlier in May said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes US$3.8-million after failing to repay a 2018 loan.
However, these claims are being contested and Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. has confirmed that there is no foreclosure sale. “Simply put, the counter-lawsuit [that] has been filed is to stop the fraud,” Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. said in a statement Tuesday.
While it is unclear exactly how much Graceland is worth today, Elvis bought the property in 1957 for US$102,500, which is an estimated US$1.1 million today.Brad Vest/Getty Images
What’s included in the Graceland estate?
The Graceland estate includes the mansion, filled with Presley family memorabilia, and the original grounds. Graceland’s associated properties include the 200,000-square-foot Elvis Presley’s Memphis Entertainment Complex across the road, as well as two museums covering the breadth of Elvis’s career and car collection. The Guest House at Graceland, a six-storey, 450-room hotel, was opened in 2016, and, at the time, was the biggest hospitality project Memphis had seen in more than 90 years.
Has Graceland been in financial trouble before?
In February, 2018, Lisa Marie filed a US$100-million lawsuit accusing her former business manager, Barry Siegel, of “negligence and mismanaging her finances” and for leading her on a “11-year odyssey to financial ruin,” the lawsuit claimed.
The trust she inherited from her father when she was 25 was worth US$100-million in 1993. As of 2018, it was allegedly left with $14,000 in cash and more than $500,000 in credit-card debt. Siegel filed a counter-lawsuit seeking $800,000 in unpaid bills from Presley, claiming she has “twice squandered” her inheritance with “her spendthrift ways.”
What happens next?
Chancellor JoeDae L. Jenkins blocked the sale of the property at a hearing at Shelby County Tennessee Chancery Court Wednesday morning citing the need for “adequate discovery” in the lawsuit.
“The public interest is best served, particularly here in Shelby County, for Graceland is a part of this community, well-loved by this community and, indeed, around the world,” Jenkins said during the hearing.
A statement e-mailed to The Associated Press after Wednesday’s ruling stated that Naussany would not proceed with the lawsuit. The private investment company will be “withdrawing all claims with prejudice,” because a key document in the case and the loan were recorded and obtained in a different state. This would mean that “legal action would have to be filed in multiple states.” The other state was not specified in the e-mail.
Amid the lawsuit, Elvis Presley Enterprises has assured Elvis fans hoping to visit that “Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years.”