It happened on a Wednesday night. September 27, 2017. The news hit the wires like a physical jolt, though honestly, it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone. The man was 91. Still, when Hugh Hefner died, it felt like the final page turned on a specific, glossy, and highly controversial chapter of American history. He wasn’t in a hospital. He was at home, tucked away inside the infamous Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, surrounded by his family.
For years, rumors had swirled that he was frail or that the "Grotto" was getting dusty. People whispered about his health every time he skipped a Midsummer Night’s Dream party. But when the end finally came, the details were a bit more clinical than the silk-pajama-clad myth he’d spent decades building.
The Reality of How Hugh Hefner Died
Let's clear up the "natural causes" label. While the initial statement from Playboy Enterprises kept it vague, the death certificate later painted a much more specific picture. He didn't just drift off in his sleep from old age alone.
Hefner’s primary cause of death was cardiac arrest.
But that wasn't the whole story. He had been battling a nasty, highly aggressive strain of E. coli that was "highly resistant to antibiotics." This led to septicemia, which is basically blood poisoning. It’s a brutal way to go, especially for a man in his nineties. His lungs were failing too—respiratory failure was listed as a contributing factor.
A Quiet Life at the End
Despite the public image of a never-ending party, his final years were surprisingly domestic. He wasn't chasing bunnies around the grotto anymore. He was playing backgammon. He was watching classic movies—Casablanca was a permanent favorite—and eating dinner at 5:00 p.m. sharply.
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His third wife, Crystal Harris, was 31 at the time of his death. There was a 60-year age gap, which naturally made people cynical. But by most accounts from those inside the house, she was a dedicated companion. She held his hand as he passed.
The $75,000 Crypt Next to Marilyn Monroe
You’ve probably heard this one, and it’s 100% true. Hefner is buried in a crypt at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Specifically, he’s in the space immediately to the left of Marilyn Monroe.
He bought the plot back in 1992. It cost him $75,000.
- The irony: Marilyn Monroe famously never met Hugh Hefner.
- The history: She was the "Sweetheart of the Month" in the very first issue of Playboy in 1953.
- The controversy: Many critics find it creepy that he’s spending eternity next to a woman who was arguably exploited by the magazine's early success, without her ever having a say in it.
Hefner saw it differently. To him, it was "poetic." He told the Los Angeles Times in 2009 that spending eternity next to Marilyn was "too sweet to pass up." The funeral itself was small. Private. Just his four children—Christie, David, Marston, and Cooper—and Crystal. No cameras. No press.
What Happened to the Money and the Mansion?
When someone as famous as Hugh Hefner died, the first question people usually ask is: "Who gets the house?"
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Actually, he didn't even own the Playboy Mansion when he passed. He’d sold it a year earlier, in 2016, to Daren Metropoulos, the heir to the Pabst Blue Ribbon fortune. The price tag was $100 million, but there was a catch—a "life estate" clause. Hefner got to live there until he died, paying a cool $1 million a year in rent to the new owner.
The Will and the "Ironclad" Prenup
Crystal Harris didn't inherit the mansion, and she didn't inherit the bulk of the estate. They had a prenuptial agreement that was often described as "ironclad."
However, she wasn't left out in the cold:
- She received a $5 million payout.
- She was given a 5,900-square-foot house in the Hollywood Hills (which was held in a trust).
- Hefner reportedly left her a significant amount of jewelry and personal effects.
The rest of his wealth—estimated at around $43 million at the time of his death—was split between his four children, the University of Southern California’s film school, and various charities.
The Complicated Legacy Left Behind
Since 2017, the conversation around Hefner has shifted dramatically. While his obituaries initially hailed him as a "sexual revolutionary" and a "civil rights advocate," the A&E docuseries Secrets of Playboy later pulled back the curtain on some much darker allegations.
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Former "Live-In" girlfriends and Bunnies described the mansion not as a playground, but as a place of strict rules, "pig nights," and emotional manipulation. It’s hard to reconcile the man who funded civil rights rallies and published Martin Luther King Jr. with the man accused of maintaining a "cult-like" environment for young women.
The Aftermath of Playboy Enterprises
His son, Cooper Hefner, briefly took the reins as Chief Creative Officer. He tried to steer the brand back to its "philosophical" roots, even bringing back nudity after a short-lived ban. But by 2024 and 2025, the brand had largely transitioned into a licensing company. The magazine is a ghost of its former self. The "Playboy Philosophy" feels like a relic from a different century.
Common Misconceptions About His Passing
There are a few things people still get wrong about that night in September.
- He didn't die of a Viagra overdose. That's a persistent urban legend. While he was open about using the drug, his death was a result of the infections mentioned earlier.
- The Mansion wasn't "given" to his kids. As noted, it was already sold.
- He wasn't broke. People often point to the decline of print media and assume he died penniless. While his net worth was nowhere near its 1970s peak (when it was in the hundreds of millions), he still died a multi-millionaire.
Final Insights for the Curious
If you're looking for the "truth" of Hugh Hefner, you won't find it in a single documentary or a glossy centerfold. He was a man of contradictions. He fought for the First Amendment and equal rights while simultaneously building a business that many argue commodified the very people he claimed to empower.
Next steps for those following the legacy:
- Check out the Westwood Village Memorial Park if you're in LA; it's a public space where you can see the crypts of many Golden Age stars.
- Look into the USC School of Cinematic Arts archives if you want to see the films and history he actually cared about preserving.
- Research the current state of PLBY Group, Inc. if you’re interested in how a brand survives (or doesn't) after its founder is gone.
He lived 91 years on his own terms. Whether you see him as a hero or a villain, there's no denying he changed the way the world talks about sex. And then, he went to sleep next to the most famous woman in the world.