When did Hugh Hefner die, what was the Playboy founder’s net worth, who is his wife Crystal Harris and how many children did he have?
HUGH Hefner the founder and publisher of the original lad's mag Playboy has died aged 91.
He is said to have had trysts with the vast majority of the so-called “Playmates” who featured in the magazine during its Seventies and Eighties heyday.
He died from natural causes while "surrounded by loved ones" at the Playboy Mansion.
But who was the bon viveur-in-chief? Here’s what we know...
Who is Hugh Hefner?
Hugh Hefner was the founder of the iconic Playboy magazine, which he launched in 1953.
The first issue – featuring a colour photo of Marilyn Monroe in the buff – was a smash hit, selling more than 50,000 copies.
The magazine famous for its iconic covers went from strength to strength, becoming a household name and catapulting Hefner to fame.
His parties at the Playboy mansion and his antics with the models that live there with him became the stuff of legend.
By his own account, Hefner had sex with more than a thousand women, including many of those pictured in his magazine, after the collapse of his marriage.
But he wasn’t always the party animal in a silk smoking jacket the public knew in his later years.
The man behind the glossy girlie magazine was a shy, geeky intellectual who was a virgin until the age of 22 and married his university sweetheart.
Hefner’s incredible transformation from suburban family man to self-styled playboy is explored in the documentary series American Playboy, released on Amazon Prime.
Hefner died of natural causes at the Playboy Mansion on September 27 2017.
Paying tribute, the firm behind the magazine described Hefner as "the American icon who in 1953 introduced the world to Playboy magazine and built the company into one of the most recognisable American global brands in history."
His soon Cooper said "my father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom."
Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian were among those to pay tribute to the self-styled godfather of the sexual revolution.
Hefner is set to be buried in a flash LA ceremony alongside the first Playboy playmate Marilyn Monroe.
What is Hefner’s net worth?
Hefner’s net worth was estimated to be around £40million.
His fortune is believed to have totalled some £160million in years gone by, but was hit hard when Playboy’s stock lost 80 per cent of its value.
Many think he owned the famous Playboy mansion, but in reality he didn't.
The house is owned by Daren Metropoulos, who bought it for around £80million in 2016 but agreed that Hefner could keep living there until he dies.
Who is Crystal Harris?
Crystal Harris is Hefner’s third wife.
A Playboy Playmate herself, she was Miss December 2009 in the magazine.
The couple announced their engagement in 2010 but split just five days before their wedding.
The couple got back together in 2012 and married in December of that year.
Following Hefner's death it was reported that Harris would receive nothing.
She is thought to have signed a prenuptial agreement and is believed to have never been added the magazine magnate's will.
How many kids does Hefner have?
Hefner had four children from his two previous marriages.
His daughter Christie who was born in 1952 and son David, born in 1955, were from his first marriage to Mildred Williams, who he was with from 1949 to 1959.
His younger two sons – Marston, born in 1990, and Cooper, born in 1991 – were from his marriage to Playboy’s “Playmate of the Year”, Kimberly Conrad.
He split with Kimberley in 2010 – the same year he announced his engagement to his current partner.
