Johnny Carson's trust gave his foundation $156 million after his death, and no public accounting of his estate has appeared

Johnny Carson died of emphysema in January 2005 at 79. He kept his giving private. His charity, the John W. Carson Foundation, had received about $1 million to $2 million a year from the John W. Carson Trust. In August 2010 the foundation's tax filings showed it had received $156 million from the trust after his death. The Smoking Gun reported the breakdown as $35.2 million in cash and $121.2 million in securities and royalty rights, and said no public accounting of the estate exists. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported the same sum on 10 August 2010. His nephews Jeff and Steve Sotzing sit on the foundation board^†. Carson had paid his second wife Joanne Copeland nearly $500,000 plus $100,000 a year in alimony in 1972, and his third wife Joanna Holland $20 million in assets plus $35,000 a month for 64 months in 1985. His fourth wife Alexis Maas survived him. What she inherited has not been reported by a primary source^†. The University of Nebraska received $5 million from the estate after his death. A figure of $300 million for the estate has been circulated and is not confirmed^†.