Steve Wright left behind just £40,000 in his will, with the majority of his estate being gifted to charity.
The BBC Radio 2 legend died aged 69 from a ruptured ulcer in his stomach at his £2million home in London on February 12 2024.
He rose to fame in 1980 on BBC Radio 1, including fronting the channel’s prime-time breakfast show, before moving to Radio 2, where he was a constant feature.
But the star DJ’s estate had a net value of just £40,623 when he died, with the gross value rising to just £53,623.
In a generous final gesture, Steve gave £15,000 to Cancer Research in his will and another £10,000 to the British Heart Foundation.
The sum that remained – amounting to little more than £25,000 – was to be shared between his children, Lucy and Tom.
The will, made just two months before he died, directed that his funeral be paid for out of his own pocket alongside any inheritance tax or expenses relating to his death.
Radio personality Steve Wright presented programmes for BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 for more than four decades before his death aged 69.
Steve Wright was found dead at his flat in Marylebone after paramedics were called to an ‘incident’
Friends said that Steve was ‘struggling with his health’ before his death, but added the news was ‘a complete shock’
Steve joined BBC Radio 1 in 1980 to host a Saturday evening show before moving on to host Steve Wright In The Afternoon a year later until 1993.
Wright then fronted the Radio 1 Breakfast show for a year until 1995, and completed a stint at commercial radio stations before returning to BBC Radio 2 in 1996 to host Steve Wright’s Saturday Show and Sunday Love Songs.
In 1999, he recreated Steve Wright In The Afternoon every weekday on Radio 2, with celebrity interviews and entertaining trivia featured in his Factoids segment, before stepping down in September 2022.
Former BBC Radio 1 host Scott Mills took over the afternoon slot as part of the station’s schedule shake-up.
Wright continued to present Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2 and since October last year, he presented the long-running show Pick Of The Pops, which had previously been fronted by Paul Gambaccini.
His last show was a pre-recorded Valentine’s Day edition of the programme three days after his death. Wright told listeners in his final sign-off: ‘I’ll be back for more love songs next Sunday, ta-da then.’
A statement shared by Wright’s family at the time said: ‘It is with deep sorrow and profound regret that we announce the passing of our beloved Steve Wright.
Steve Wright pictured in 1980
The DJ, seen in 2003, was made an MBE for services to radio
He rose to fame in 1980 on BBC Radio 1, including fronting the channel’s prime-time breakfast show, before moving to Radio 2, where he was a constant feature. Pictured: In 1995
‘In addition to his son, Tom, and daughter, Lucy, Steve leaves behind his brother, Laurence and his father Richard.
‘Also, much-loved close friends and colleagues, and millions of devoted radio listeners who had the good fortune and great pleasure of allowing Steve into their daily lives as one of the UK’s most enduring and popular radio personalities.
‘As we all grieve, the family requests privacy at this immensely difficult time.’
Following Steve’s death, his heartbroken brother blamed the BBC star’s death on his poor diet and claimed that he concealed his health problems from his family.
Laurence Wright, 66, also shut down claims that the Corporation’s decision to axe him from his long-running Radio 2 Afternoon Show contributed to his death, revealing the veteran star was ‘thankful’ for the rest.
Speaking to MailOnline, Laurence said: ‘He was aware that he could have looked after himself better, in his lifestyle choices. Obviously we all wish he had.
‘It’s like anyone who doesn’t look after themselves over an extended period. The normal stuff – diet, nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress – he was a very stoic kind of guy as well so if he had something wrong with him and he had to go to have some treatment or go to the doctors, he wouldn’t talk about it.
‘He was the kind of guy who would just carry on, take care of it, not talk about it, not make a big thing, that kind of stoic sort of attitude.
‘That’s just how he was – that probably didn’t help really, because he wouldn’t have help or take advice necessarily.’
Steve Wright, who died at the age of 69, pictured in his recording studio in 1994
Steve Wright pictured with fellow radio DJ’s Tony Blackburn (left), and Paul Gambaccini (right)
Superstar George Michael pictured with BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Wright
He said Steve didn’t feel he should have been sacked from his popular show – but needed a break.
Laurence, a director of a company in the health industry, says his older brother’s tendency for eating out at restaurants combined with his reluctance to talk about various ‘health issues’, keeping his family in the dark, were the main factors behind his shock death at the age of 69.
He said he enjoyed a close relationship with his brother, who stayed with him on the Christmas Day before his death along with their father.
He said Steve’s favourite place to eat out was the RAC club in London, which consists of many restaurants, and he chose to ignore home cooked food because he didn’t have the time to prepare meals, as he was so consumed by his job.
Laurence explained: ‘He probably had the balance of eating out and not so much home cooked [meals].
‘He could have done with a bit more balance where you’re cooking food yourself from home, but he didn’t do that because he was too busy. So hence he would always eat out.
‘He wasn’t a massive drinker, he just used to drink a glass of wine when he ate out but not a massive drinker. He didn’t smoke, he used to smoke a few cigars a few years back but doesn’t smoke.
‘He was just wrapped up in his job to such an extent – and he loved it – that was the important thing for him and other things that we all know is important – he didn’t consider that important, which is a shame really.
‘Food or exercise is just something you do to have to live. Whether that had any effect on what happened to him ultimately I don’t know.’
