Kriti Mehrotra
Whether it be CBS’ ’48 Hours: The Menendez Brothers’ Fight for Freedom,’ ABC’s ’20/20: Inside the Menendez Movement,’ or Netflix’s ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,’ they all live up to their titles. That’s because these originals explore every aspect of how and why brothers Lyle and Erik murdered their parents, Mary Louise “Kitty” and José Enrique Menendez, in their own home in 1989. Their motives have actually never been positively confirmed, yet while they themselves claim their crime was a culmination of years of abuse, many feel José’s immense wealth was involved.
How Did José Menendez Earn His Money?
Although born on May 6, 1944, in Havana, Cuba, to a champion swimmer and a one-time soccer star, José spent most of his life in the US, considering he moved for good at the tender age of 16. He actually lived with family friends in Pennsylvania before graduating high school, only to then find himself in Carbondale after securing a swimming scholarship at Southern Illinois University. That’s where he first came across his future wife Kitty Andersen in debating class, just for them to fall so head over heels in love they married in 1963 despite the disapproval of both their parents.
José and Kitty subsequently relocated to New York, where he earned an accounting degree from Queens College while also washing dishes at a local restaurant to provide for his little family. Little did he know his hard work would soon land him a position at a consultancy firm in Manhattan called Coopers & Lybrand, following which he did a comptrolling stint at a Chicago-based business. According to reports, his contributions played a significant role in helping this company flourish, but he was still forced out on technicalities when a bigger enterprise took over in the 1970s.
That’s how José ended up handling commercial leasing at Hertz, which later became a subsidiary of the renowned electronics organization Radio Corporation of America (better known as RCA). His efforts here panned out in the way he had always desired, ultimately resulting in him being appointed the head of this firm’s record division as well as helming their overall Latin music line. From Duran Duran to Eurythmics to Menudo, he is the one responsible for bringing them all to the label with deals worth millions and millions of dollars, propelling him to new, unforeseen heights.
However, by the time 1986 rolled around, José knew it was time to move on, driving him to join the California video-distributing firm International Video Entertainment (aka Live Entertainment). This executive actually made some major changes the minute he stepped into his position, resulting in the company profiting like never before under his leadership — they earned $8 million in 1987 and $16 million in 1988. As if that’s not enough, he had since also moved to Beverly Hills, where he was rubbing shoulders with A-list celebrities while also sitting proudly on the board of Carolco Pictures, the studio behind the ‘Rambo’ franchise.
José Menendez’s Net Worth at the Time of His Death
As per all accounts, José was an incredibly intelligent and successful businessman who essentially had Midas’ touch, but he was also involved with “some less savory business associates.” Therefore, not all of his earnings were allegedly white, yet the official deals he closed for his organizations were more than enough for him to have secured an extensive fortune for his loved ones. While we can not calculate his exact earnings, considering he never made his every income, investment, or saving public, his sons did once assert their belief that he had at least $75 to $90 million in a Swiss bank account for their future. We couldn’t find a way to validate their claims.
According to Vanity Fair, José made $500,000 a year during his stint at RCA, which obviously only grew once he switched gears and landed at International Video Entertainment, so we assume it to be $1 million. Moreover, as we know, the real wealth of executives doesn’t come from their salaries but from their stock ownership. We estimate that his stock ownership in RCA was worth over $10 million. This, combined with all his other affiliations in the entertainment industry, assets, possible return on investments, as well as lavish lifestyle, indicates he likely had a net worth of $30 million when he was killed by his sons on August 20, 1989. In today’s money, that would be equivalent to over $100 million.
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