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Most of Elizabeth Taylor's massive fortune will go to the two AIDS charities with whom she was most famously associated.
Screen queen Elizabeth Taylor has left behind a fortune worth at least $600 million, much of which is expected to go to the AIDS charities she championed for decades. Her famous jewelry collection, valued at an eye-popping $150 million in 2002, is likely to be auctioned off with the bulk of the proceeds going to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and amfAR, the AIDS charity she helped found in 1985, according to WFLD/Fox TV Chicago. "From what I understand, she seems to have been very wise about her investments," said a financial planner who has worked with other Hollywood A-listers. At the time of her 1994 divorce from her last husband, Larry Fortensky, Taylor's net worth was estimated at $608.4 million. That figure could now be well in excess of $1 billion. During the 1990s, Taylor reportedly earned about $2 per second, or about $63 million per year. Her famed perfume, White Diamonds, earned more than $70 million last year, according to reports.Our hero, even in death.
Good As You posts the above 1985 news clipping as a reminder that Elizabeth Taylor was among the first and most vocal celebrities to demand funding for AIDS research, a move she made at great risk to her career, considering the tenor of those dark, dark days. Taylor went on to cofound the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and her own Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which raised over $50M in its first ten years.
This morning the Human Rights Campaign acknowledges Taylor's tireless campaign against HIV/AIDS: "We are deeply saddened by the death Elizabeth Taylor. Ms. Taylor was a true ally to the LGBT community. She was one of the first public voices to speak up about the AIDS crisis while many others stayed silent in the 1980s and she helped raise millions of dollars to fight the disease. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, and to all those whose lives have been positively impacted by the life and work of Elizabeth Taylor."
On February 9th, amfAR will host its New York City gala where Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Elton John will reunite for a performance of their Grammy-winning smash single That's What Friends Are For, which was recorded 25 years ago as a fundraiser for amfAR. To date, the single has raised more than $3M for AIDS research. 
Honorees at the 2011 black tie gala will be former President Bill Clinton, Elizabeth Taylor, and Diane von Furstenberg. The evening is a special tribute to amfAR founding chairperson, Dr. Mathilde Krim. Also performing: Liza Minnelli and violinist David Garrett.
Get tickets here.
RELATED: That's What Friends Are For was written by longtime Dionne Warwick collaborator Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded by Rod Stewart in 1982.
