Cantinflas: the mysterious whereabouts of the Gold Film actor's inheritance

Mario Moreno, better known as Cantinflas, was a renowned Mexican actor who stood out during the Mexican Golden Film Era, which was characterized by his white humor and his way of being. His full name was Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes.

Cantinflas died on a day like today, April 20, but in 1993, 29 years ago. The Mexican actor left an estimated fortune of between $68 and $70 million. However, his son Mario Moreno Cantinflas Ivanova reported that, when he went to claim the money from his father's inheritance, he found his bank account almost empty.

The executives did not know what to say to him about the whereabouts of the money his father had left, to which he alone was allegedly entitled. In between, he faced a judicial battle with one of his cousins, who claimed that the comedian had left him part of his estate.

In an interview, Cantinflas' son said that his father had accounts in several countries, including Mexico, and that in the account where there were supposedly between USD 68 and 70 million, they found only 13,000 pesos.

“My dad had accounts in Spain, the Cayman Islands, New York and Mexico, and when he died I went to the banks to report the death to freeze them and make inventories of the inheritance, but in the Banamex balance, where I knew there were about 68 or 70 million dollars, we only found 13,000 new pesos.”

From the age of 26, Cantinflas played various roles in the world of cinema. He became known worldwide in 1956, for his role in Around the World in 80 Days, for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in Musical Comedy.

It is believed that Cantinflas earned, in the 1950s, USD 1.5 million a year, a sum that made him the highest paid comedian in the world. It was placed above Jerry Lewis and Charles Chaplin. Apart from his career as an actor and comedian, Cantinflas was characterized by his entrepreneurial spirit and philanthropic facet, helping people in need in his locality.

The money he earned from his first film jobs was invested in numerous commercial enterprises, including two film companies, office buildings and an 800-hectare bull breeding establishment on the route that connects Mexico City with Guadalajara.

The New York Times newspaper points out that the actor's inheritance consisted of several properties, including a summer house in an exclusive area of Acapulco, valued at USD 13 million of its time; a field of more than 400 hectares known as La Purísima, in Ixtlahuaca, and four other houses and departments. In addition, he owned a chain of hairdressers and beauty salons; a private art collection; a private plane; cars and high-value jewelry.

Although he had left only one heir, according to his son's will, there was also a dispute over the intellectual property rights of his films. His nephew Eduardo Moreno Leparade claimed that he had documents proving that, shortly before he died of lung cancer, Cantinflas had granted him the rights to his films.

After more than 20 years, in 2014, the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled that he was, in effect, the successor to his uncle's film rights.

Cantinflas's son, Moreno Ivanova, died in 2017 of cardiorespiratory arrest and his father's legacy passed to Tita Marbez, his wife, from whom he had separated at the time of his death. At the beginning of 2020, the woman stated that the inheritance she received did not include any property of the iconic actor, and she did not know whether the house in Acapulco, the La Purísima estate or any other property was originally listed in Cantinflas' estate.

In an interview, Moreno Ivanova stated that throughout her life, she had to sell part of the real estate, including houses, ranches and hotels, in order to survive.

To date, the alleged USD 70 million in the bank remain a mystery, as Moreno Ivanova repeatedly stated that there were only 13,000 pesos in the account, but it was never revealed what had finally happened to his father's alleged fortune.

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