‘He Shut Us Out’: Tony Bennett’s Daughters Accuse Brother of $100M Estate Betrayal

Johanna and Antonia Bennett, daughters of the late legendary singer Tony Bennett, are locked in a bitter inheritance dispute with their older brother Danny, accusing him of financial manipulation and self-dealing.

The sisters have filed a new lawsuit in New York State Court that paints a troubling picture of family discord following their father’s death in July 2023 at age 96, after his seven-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Battle Over Bennett’s Estate

The 38-page lawsuit, according to Rolling Stone, presents a stark contrast between Tony Bennett’s reported assets at death — valued at approximately $12 million — and what his daughters believe should exist given his substantial career earnings.

According to the filing, the crooner’s lifetime earnings exceeded $100 million, with significant income generated during the final decade of his career when Danny managed his father’s remarkable comeback.

“Tony maintained a loving and devoted relationship with all of his children and his estate plan expressly provides that all four children be treated equally,” the sisters state in their lawsuit.

They allege that Danny has systematically abused his multiple positions of authority for “his own significant financial gain” at the expense of his siblings, according to Page Six.

The latest legal action, which follows an initial lawsuit filed in June 2024, contains more specific allegations against Danny, who served as Tony’s personal and professional manager with power of attorney, managed his company Benedetto Arts, and currently acts as trustee of the family trust. Among the most serious accusations, the sisters claim Danny took two loans from the family trust totaling $1.2 million in 2020 without informing them.

Perhaps most contentiously, the lawsuit alleges Danny orchestrated the sale of Tony’s name, likeness rights, and music royalty stream to brand development firm Iconoclast without properly involving or informing his sisters.

Johanna and Antonia maintain they “had little or no knowledge of the Iconoclast deal” when it occurred and “still do not have complete information about the net proceeds of the transaction.”

The legal complaint extends beyond financial matters into personal territory, with allegations that Danny prevented his sisters from acquiring sentimental artifacts from their father’s estate and restricted access to Tony’s apartment for an extended period after his death. The sisters specifically mention Tony’s piano, which Antonia claims was promised to her but was in “terrible condition” when they finally gained access to view it.

Since their father’s passing, the sisters report receiving only “a single modest distribution” of $245,000 each, an amount they describe as “nowhere close to what they believe they are entitled to receive” based on Tony’s established wishes for equal treatment among his four children, Spin reports.

Danny Bennett, who began managing his father’s career approximately 45 years ago and played a pivotal role in Tony’s 1990s resurgence, has rejected the allegations.

Attorneys for Danny characterized the lawsuit as “another baseless attempt to distort the public and the court’s understanding of Tony Bennett’s clearly stated wishes,” adding that “Tony and Danny’s record of unprecedented success speaks for itself.”

Tony Bennett leaves behind a remarkable musical legacy spanning more than 70 albums, including his final collaboration with Lady Gaga released in 2021 — after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The 19-time Grammy winner’s family now finds itself divided over the management of his estate, with his daughters seeking damages and asking the court to remove Danny as head of the family trust.

As this legal battle unfolds, it casts a shadow over the carefully crafted late-career renaissance that Danny helped engineer for his father — a comeback that culminated in Tony’s final performances alongside Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall, arrangements Danny once proudly described as essential because his father’s career “couldn’t end that way. After all that he did.”

The legal battle represents a stark contrast to the harmony Tony Bennett created through his musical life.

The irony isn’t lost on his fans: the man who sang about leaving his heart in San Francisco has left his family divided in New York, fighting over the true value of a musical inheritance that should have united rather than fractured the Bennett family.