Liz Taylor's riches estimated at $1.32 billion

Elizabeth Taylor is now believed to be one of just 14 self-made women billionaires. Photo / AP

It is a fortune that even Cleopatra might have blushed at. Elizabeth Taylor died with personal riches estimated at up to US$1 billion ($1.32 billion), it was claimed yesterday.

Although she had not starred in a serious film for 30 years, the double Oscar-winning actress is now believed to be one of just 14 self-made women billionaires.

She negotiated some of the most lucrative Hollywood deals.She was paid US$4 million (US$47 million today) to appear in Cleopatra in 1963, nearly bankrupting 20th Century Fox.

A deal with Elizabeth Arden in 1991 to market her own perfumes, White Diamonds and Passion, has since turned over a combined US$1 billion, earning Taylor a considerable cut.

The cosmetics giant reported combined sales of Taylor's fragrances last year of US$69 million, adding it intends to continue the line despite the star's death last week.

As well as some outsize diamonds, she also owned the celebrated La Peregrina pearl, once the property of Queen Mary I of England.

It is also reported that Taylor had a portfolio of real estate valued in excess of US$150 million, including her Los Angeles home full of 18th-century English furniture and antiques.

There were also settlements from her eight marriages. In 1996, when she divorced her last husband, Larry Fortensky, Taylor was said to be worth US$608 million.

Taylor also deployed her money-making skills to help others, raising US$270 million for her Aids Foundation, which is also likely to benefit from the sale of her jewels.

The rest of the fortune is expected to be shared among Taylor's four children, although who will benefit from her future earnings is yet to be established.

- INDEPENDENT