Finding a concrete number for Faye Maltese net worth is a bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack, only the haystack is three decades of Hollywood history and a very private divorce. Honestly, if you're looking for a Forbes-style breakdown of her bank account, you won't find one. She wasn't a blockbuster star or a tech mogul. She was a woman who spent thirty years married to one of the greatest actors to ever grace the screen, Gene Hackman.
People often conflate her wealth with Hackman’s massive $80 million estate, but the reality is much more nuanced. Faye passed away in 2017, and her financial story is tied more to a 1980s divorce settlement than modern-day celebrity earnings.
📖 Related: Sam Simon Charitable Foundation: What Most People Get Wrong
The Reality of Faye Maltese Net Worth
When we talk about Faye Maltese net worth, we have to look at the timing. She married Gene Hackman in 1956. That was before The French Connection, before the Oscars, and long before the big paychecks started rolling in. They were together for thirty years. In the world of California divorce law, that’s a "long-term marriage," which usually means a pretty significant split of assets.
By the time they divorced in 1986, Hackman was a powerhouse. While specific court documents from the 80s aren't exactly floating around on social media, industry standards at the time suggest Faye walked away with a multi-million dollar settlement.
- Real Estate: The couple owned several properties, including homes in California.
- Alimony: Typical for a thirty-year marriage where one spouse supported the other's rise to fame.
- Residuals: In some high-profile cases, ex-spouses are entitled to a portion of the residuals for work created during the marriage.
Estimates often peg her net worth at the time of her passing in 2017 around $1 million to $5 million, though this is largely speculative based on the lifestyle she maintained in her later years and the assets she likely held from her marriage.
Why the Numbers Get Confusing in 2026
There’s a lot of chatter right now because of the recent passing of Gene Hackman and his second wife, Betsy Arakawa. With Hackman’s $80 million estate being a hot topic in the news, Faye's name has resurfaced. People want to know if her children—Christopher, Elizabeth, and Leslie—are getting a piece of that pie.
It’s a mess, frankly.
Reports from early 2025 indicated that Hackman’s will, signed decades ago, left everything to Betsy. Since Faye died in 2017, she obviously has no claim to the current estate. However, the wealth she accumulated during her life likely passed down to her three children. So, while "Faye Maltese" doesn't have a net worth in 2026, her legacy exists in the financial stability of her heirs.
The Career That Didn't Make the Headlines
Faye wasn't just a "wife." She worked as a bank secretary when she first met Gene at a dance at the YMCA. She was the one providing the steady paycheck while he was struggling at the Pasadena Playhouse—a place where he and Dustin Hoffman were famously voted "Least Likely to Succeed."
That early career didn't build a fortune, but it built the foundation for the Hackman empire. You've gotta wonder how much of that $80 million would even exist if she hadn't been the breadwinner in the late 50s.
The Divorce That Changed Everything
The 1986 split was a turning point. After three decades and three children, the marriage ended just as Hackman was entering a new phase of his career. It’s important to note that Faye chose a life of extreme privacy after the divorce. She didn't write a "tell-all" book. She didn't do the talk show circuit.
This privacy is exactly why her net worth remains a mystery. She wasn't out there flaunting wealth or chasing brand deals. She lived a quiet life, likely supported by the settlement from a man who, despite their estrangement at times, had become one of the wealthiest men in Hollywood.
Breaking Down the Assets
If we had to guess where her money sat, it wasn't in crypto or tech stocks.
- Legacy Trusts: It's highly probable that a portion of the divorce settlement was placed into trusts for her children.
- Private Investments: Like many of her generation in Southern California, real estate was the safest bet.
- Liquidity: Staying out of the spotlight costs money, and she clearly had enough to maintain her dignity and privacy until her death at age 89.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that Faye was wealthy in her own right through some hidden career. She wasn't. Her wealth was "marital wealth." In today's landscape of influencers and self-made moguls, that sounds old-fashioned. But in the context of 1950s-1980s Hollywood, it was the norm.
Another error? Thinking she died broke. There is zero evidence for this. While she wasn't living in a $20 million mansion like Gene’s Santa Fe estate, she was comfortably well-off.
Actionable Insights on Celebrity Estates
If there is anything to learn from the saga of Faye Maltese and the current legal battle over Gene Hackman's fortune, it's about the importance of updated estate planning.
- Review your beneficiaries: Hackman’s will was allegedly 20 years old. Circumstances change.
- Understand "Marital Property": If you're looking at your own net worth, remember that assets acquired during a marriage are often viewed as a 50/50 split in many jurisdictions.
- Privacy has a value: Faye Maltese proved that you can be adjacent to massive fame and still keep your personal business off the front page.
Faye’s story ended in 2017, but her financial fingerprint is still visible in the lives of her children. While she might not have had the $80 million her ex-husband did, she had something many in Hollywood lack: a quiet, dignified life away from the cameras.
Next Steps for You:
- Research California Community Property Laws: If you're curious how settlements like Faye's worked, look into the specific laws of the 1980s.
- Check Probate Records: If you're a legal buff, searching for probate filings in the county where she resided (likely Los Angeles or surrounding areas) can sometimes reveal the final valuation of an estate.
- Compare to Modern Settlements: Look at how modern "long-term" Hollywood marriages (like those of Harrison Ford or Kevin Costner) compare to the 1986 Hackman/Maltese split to see how much the "price" of a divorce has risen.