Nevertheless, Presley still had a decent stack of cash to splash around during his lifetime and was even known for his extravagant spending habits. As he once famously said, “You can have cars, you can have money, you can have a fabulous home, you can have everything. If you’re not happy, what have you got?”

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So, what exactly did The King spend his millions on?

Properties galore – including Graceland

After marrying Priscilla in 1967, Presley bought a lavish Beverly Hills estate for his new family to live in. Costing US$400,000 at the time, it had five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a swimming pool, and legendary crooners Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were the couple’s neighbours. The property was later bought by Hard Rock Cafe owner Peter Morton. Presley also reportedly owned properties in Holmby Hills, Mississippi and Palm Springs.

A private jet fit for a king

Presley’s most famous private jet is probably the one he bought in 1975 and named after his daughter Lisa Marie, the 1958 Convair 880, per Graceland’s website. It had a private bedroom, conference room and lavish details like 24 carat gold-flecked sinks and gold-plated seat belts. Renovations to the aircraft reportedly cost US$800,000 alone, per Aerotime.

But the rock star actually owned multiple planes that made up an impressive fleet. In 1975, he splurged US$900,000 on another plane, the Hound Dog II, which was a Lockheed Jetstar executive business jet, per Aerotime. Presley’s third aircraft was a smaller Lockheed Jet Star that had pink velvet seats, per Graceland’s website.

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Classic cars and a former president’s yacht

According to Love Money, Presley bought his first pink Cadillac in 1955, the first of many he would come to own from the carmaker. He lovingly gifted his so-called Elvis Rose Cadillac to his mother, as he promised her years before.

GQ reported that he also cruised around town in a BMW 507, Lincoln Continental Mark 5, Ford Thunderbird, Rolls-Royce Phantom 5, Mercedes-Benz 600 and Ferrari Dino 308 GT4.

Presley also had a fleeting appreciation for life at sea. In 1964, the Suspicious Minds musician shelled out US$55,000 for a gigantic yacht called the Potomac, which had previously been owned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was known as the “floating White House”, per Outsider. Soon after he bought the vessel though, Presley donated it to St Jude’s Children Hospital so that the charity could sell it and raise money.

Watches, jewellery … and jumpsuits

The King’s glamorous stage outfits didn’t come cheap.

Presley was known for his diamante jumpsuits and, according to Outsider, his most expensive one was the “Aloha” outfit. Costing US$65,000 at the time – US$250,000 in today’s money – it was the one he wore for his first show broadcast by satellite, Aloha from Hawaii, in 1973. Rolling Stone reported that he almost fell over backwards when he first tried it on because the cape weighed more than 5kg. Most of his other jumpsuits cost around US$2,000 each, also per Outsider.

Meanwhile, watches The King owned included a gold Rolex King Midas, multiple Hamilton Ventura models and two Omega Constellations, per Chrono24. In 2018, his Tiffany-Dial Omega sold for a record US$1.8 million, becoming one of the most expensive Omega watches ever sold, reported Hodinkee.

Although it’s unclear exactly how much Presley spent in total on jewellery, we know the first 14 carat gold and diamond TCB ring he had made set him back US$40,000 when he bought it – equivalent to nearly US$200,000 today. It sold in a 2020 auction for US$400,000, according to National Jeweler.

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A hefty divorce settlement with Priscilla

This was in addition to a Mercedes-Benz, a 1969 Cadillac El Dorado and a 1971 Harley-Davidson motorbike, as well as five per cent of the royalties from Elvis’ publishing companies.

Expensive gifts and allowances for friends and family

A lot of Presley’s money went to friends and family. According to Love Money, the singer paid his father Vernon an allowance of US$72,500 a year (almost US$500,000 in today’s money) and even covered his dad’s US$250,000 divorce settlement from his second marriage.

His entourage, famously dubbed the “Memphis Mafia”, also dined out on his dime, while Graceland cost about US$480,000 a year to run, according to the Los Angeles Times. He’d also give out cars as though they were candy. The Guardian reported that “on one single day he bought 32 Cadillacs and had given them all away by the afternoon”.

As Presley’s health began to deteriorate, the troubled star was believed to have spent today’s equivalent of over US$500,000 on various prescription medications, according to Love Money.

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Before his untimely death at the age of just 42, Presley also donated a significant portion of his wealth to charity.

Today, his legacy lives on as the biggest rock ‘n’ roll star of all time.