In an interview weeks before his death, Oliver Tree revealed that his fortune will go to artists, not family, after he dies.
Tree, dressed as the popular movie character Shrek, appeared on the Zach Sang Show, where he spoke about what he planned to do with his musical earnings, claiming that he set up a foundation for artists.
“I don’t believe that any of the wealth, or things I get from it, are mine,” he explained around the 53-minute mark. “So when I die, my will is set up that no one is going to get a penny. If I have a wife or kids, they’re not getting a fucking penny. I’m getting my kids through college, but they’re not going to have silver spoons.”
“The idea is that when I die, all the money is going to go back to artists,” Tree continued. “I’ve set up a foundation called Dr. Oliver Tree’s Art Grants for Baby Geniuses, and it’s set up so that the interest generated from my music. But there’s room for other money, because when I die, my art will have residual value and will probably be worth more than it is now. It will finally appreciate. My stupid fucking videos. My stupid fucking songs.”
Tree continued, going in-depth about the specifics of his foundation. “I don’t believe in money going to education,” he explained. “I want it to go to the physical making of art. You’re not allowed to buy equipment with the money. You’re not allowed to go get education and schooling with the money. You have to physically hire people to physically produce stuff — and you’re allowed to rent equipment to make things.”
Tree concluded the explanation by claiming that there will be a committee of people to vote on who will receive the money and that he hoped the foundation lasts “for a hundred years.”
Tree tragically passed away on June 14 when two helicopters collided in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was one of six killed in the crash. He was in Rio de Janeiro for his The World’s First World Tour, which kicked off last month on May 30 in Mexico City. He was supposed to be performing the first show of the trek’s European leg in Lisbon, Portugal on July 1.
