Rudolf Nureyev left most of his estate to two foundations; a sister and niece contested the will, and a federal judge ruled for the foundation in 1998

Rudolf Nureyev died of AIDS-related illness at 54. He founded the Ballet Promotion Foundation in 1975 and left most of his estate to foundations. Estimates of the estate differ: about $21 million in a 1998 report, $33 million in Wikipedia, and $50 million in a South China Morning Post item^†. Christie's sold the contents of his New York apartment on 12 and 13 January 1995 for $7.94 million and his Paris apartment contents in London in November 1995 for $2.79 million. The Paris sale was first held up by a lawsuit from a sister and niece challenging the will. In June 1998 US District Judge Denny Chin ruled that Nureyev was of sound mind when he gave the $7 million US part of the estate to the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation, based in Chicago, and rejected his relatives' efforts. Friends including Paris Opera dancer Charles Jude testified that he wanted his name kept alive through dance. His former partner Robert Tracy was paid $600,000 in instalments under an agreement with the foundation and agreed to silence.