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George Michael was in ‘no state to write will’ and was at ‘height of drinks and drugs battle’
THE 30-month wrangle over George Michael’s £97.6million fortune is finally over – but questions about why he included some people in his will while key figures in his life missed out have only just begun.
As The Sun revealed details of the five-page document dividing up his wealth, it immediately raised eyebrows among the singer’s inner circle.
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They were stunned to find George had snubbed several people who had been important to him, including his long-time Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley.
One friend said the list of 11 beneficiaries “is like a time warp” as most of them featured in his life during his Eighties heyday.
And despite the huge sums involved, George left almost all his key decisions to his eldest sister Yioda.
Fiercely reclusive Yioda was his closest confidante and still lives at the home in Goring-upon-Thames, Oxon, where the star was found dead on Christmas Day 2016.
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There are also question marks over the singer’s frame of mind at the time he signed the will in January 2013.
Just four months later he was flung from his car while travelling at speed on the M1 motorway. Friends feared at the time he had fallen prey to booze and substance abuse again.
George included a list of seven close friends who are eligible for a payout at Yioda’s discretion, effectively banning his cash from being handed to anyone outside his close-knit circle.
Here we reveal the full details of those who stand to benefit and why – alongside with the glaring omissions.
Melanie Panayiotou, 55, younger sister
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GEORGE’S sister Melanie was his hair and make-up artist throughout the height of his fame. The pair became extremely close as they toured the world together.
Melanie continues to live in his homes, and alongside elder sister Yioda she hosted George’s funeral wake at the £20million property in Highgate, North London, where he spent much of his time. She also ensured he was buried alongside their late mother in a nearby private cemetery.
As George became increasingly reclusive, Melanie was one of the few people to see him regularly.
She was a close confidante – and like her sister, she had always struggled with the loss of their mum and relied on their famous brother for support.
The 2013 will insists the share of George’s assets that Melanie receives is equal to that given to her sister.
Yioda Panayiotou, 57, older sister
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YIODA and her two siblings became increasingly close following the death of their mother – a devastating event which is said to have impacted George’s emotional wellbeing for the rest of his life.
She gave him the nickname Yog as a youngster and spent long periods living with him at his homes in London and Oxfordshire.
Unmarried Yioda became one of the few people the singer continued to trust as he became ravaged by booze and substance abuse.
She stuck by him after he landed himself an eight-week prison term in 2010 for smashing his car into a branch of Snappy Snaps while under the influence of drugs.
George was close to Yioda until the very end. He named her and his long-time lawyer Christopher Organ as the joint executors and trustees of his will – a role giving Yioda control over almost all of his fortune.
Kyriacos Panayiotou, 80, father
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THE Greek Cypriot restaurateur moved to London in the 1950s, where he changed his name to Jack Panos. Stern and uncompromising, George’s dad remained tough on the young star as his fame soared, joking that he could not hold a tune.
Far from driving father and son apart, Jack’s ribbing and traditional work ethic won George’s admiration and the pair remained close, especially after the death of the star’s mum, Lesley Angold, in 1997.
Jack lived in and ran a business from a horseracing stud farm in Hertfordshire purchased by his son.
George’s dad is one of the first beneficiaries accounted for in the legal paperwork, with a clause demanding he “live at the property and conduct his business there from for so long as he wishes”.
Shirlie Kemp, 57, friend/bandmate
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SINGER Shirlie was a backing vocalist for George’s group Wham!
The pair, who lived just a short distance apart in north London, visited each other’s homes and became close to one another’s families.
It was George who introduced her to Martin Kemp, bass player with Spandau Ballet, who she later married.
Shirlie once explained: “We bumped into Martin one night and he gave me his number. I had that for a few weeks, and George kept asking me, ‘Are you going to call him, are you going to call him?’ And I was at his house and he went into his sister’s bedroom, picked up the phone and dialled the number.”
George became godfather to their son Roman – now a breakfast show host on Capital FM – who was widely expected to be in line to inherit some of his fortune.
Piers Morgan in awkward interview with Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley as he tries to get singer to talk about George Michael
Kay Beckenham, 54, model
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UNDERWEAR model Kay became close to George in the late Eighties and early Nineties on the London party scene.
Yesterday she admitted she had “no idea” she had been named in his will, only discovering she was a beneficiary when The Sun published details of its contents.
She explained: “I saw it reported this morning.
“I think it is such a lovely gesture. I don’t know how much I will get. He is a wonderful, wonderful man.”
Connie Filippello, publicist
THE singer’s eccentric publicist describes working with George as the highlight of her career in music.
Fiercely loyal, Connie would argue vehemently with the media whenever her client found himself in a scrape, routinely insisting that stories of his hedonistic excess were wildly exaggerated.
When he tumbled from his Range Rover at high speed on the M1 in 2013 she maintained the incident was an accident after he leaned on the car door.
She was also at his side during a string of drugs incidents including his term in jail for crashing his car into a branch of Snappy Snaps in Hampstead, North London, while high on cannabis.
As stories of his growing dependence on drugs gathered momentum in later life, Connie maintained he remained “happy and healthy” throughout, aggressively threatening journalists who suggested he was struggling.
David Austin, best friend, 56
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IN the 2005 documentary A Different Story, George described record producer David as his best friend.
He was the only regular visitor to George’s house beyond his immediate family after the singer became a recluse in his final years.
There is no specific value on how much David will receive, but he will continue to earn money from royalties coming in from recordings the pair made together.
Sister Yioda will have the right to decide how much he gets from her brother’s wealth.
David still holds the key to much of the star’s back catalogue. He is understood to have a library of unreleased recordings which could be worth millions – but has always refused to make them public.
Alex Georgiou, 50, cousin
ALEX was a regular at George’s family home as the pair grew up together and remained close throughout their lives.
The pair described themselves as “cousins”, but in reality they were more distant relatives, who travelled the world together at the height of the singer’s fame – with Alex working as George’s driver and personal assistant.
Despite the occasional dispute, Alex continued to stay at George’s home regularly and was often seen walking his dogs in the local area.
The pair are understood to have clashed when Alex frantically urged him to address his drug abuse.
The Mill Trust, charity
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SET up by George to oversee his charitable donations, chairmanship of the trust was handed to Yioda after his death.
The organisation has made regular donations to a host of other charities including Childline, Cancer Research and The Elton John Aids Foundation alongside many smaller causes which the star had become supportive of, focusing on the elderly and homelessness.
George’s will refers to an earlier version of his final wishes dated April 2009, which listed his extensive collection of artworks, antiquities and other artefacts – including a piano formerly owned by John Lennon – and leaves the extremely valuable hoard to the charitable trust in order to continue their work long into the future.
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Michelle May, former PA
LITTLE is known of George’s former personal assistant, although she continues to promote charitable causes backed by George online.
Sonia Bird, family friend
LONG-TERM family friend Sonia was a surprise inclusion in the list of close pals with many in George’s wider circle admitting they had never heard of her.
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The losers
Fadi Fawaz
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George’s ex-boyfriend who found his lifeless body on Christmas Day 2016. Hairdresser Fadi, 46, is squatting in the singer’s Regent’s Park mansion in London.
He has been accused of selling George’s possessions to pay his debts.
Geri Horner
George and ex-love Kenny were pals with Geri, 46, and godfathers to her 13-year-old daughter Bluebell.
Kenny Goss
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Texan art dealer and George’s lover for 13 years. He split from him in 2009, blaming the singer’s drug use – but they remained on good terms.
Pals last night said although Kenny, 60, was not in the will, they were confident George had already provided for him.
Helen "Pepsi" Demacque
Wham! backing singer, now 60, alongside Shirlie Kemp – who does appear in George’s will.
Andrew Ridgley
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The 56-year-old Wham! guitarist’s joint writing credit on George’s 1984 mega-hit Careless Whisper has earned him £10million in royalties.
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