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Just Weeks Before He Died, Oliver Tree Explained Why His Family Wouldn’t Inherit a Cent of His Fortune

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Oliver Tree Nickell died on June 14 in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro. He was 32. He made music that refused to sit in one genre, “Life Goes On,” “Miss You,” “Alien Boy,” and built a whole visual world around it with the bowl cut and the videos he wrote and directed himself.

Earlier this year, on the Zach Sang Show, he laid out exactly what he wanted to happen to everything he’d built. The plan was simple and a little radical. His family, and any kids he might have one day, would not inherit his wealth. He said he’d put his children through college and stop there, no silver spoon.

Person in striped shirt and long dark wig holding two hand puppets against a blue sky background, with the text 'FEO' overlaid.
Oliver Tree poses in a striped Teddy Fresh tee and long dark wig alongside two hand puppets against a sky backdrop, with the word “FEO” overlaid on the image. Photo via @olivertree.

The rest would go back to the people he came up with. He described setting up a foundation, Dr. Oliver Tree’s Art Grants for Baby Geniuses, funded by the residuals his catalog would keep earning after he was gone. A committee of the artists he’d actually made things with would meet each year and vote on which emerging artists got the grants, in the spirit of the work he made. He said anyone could donate to it, and he hoped it would run for about 100 years.

It is too early to know the legal or operational status of that foundation now. What exists for certain is the interview, and the reasoning he gave for all of it.

Person with green face paint, long dark wig, and brown vest seated on a white couch next to a branded podcast microphone.
Dressed in a white shirt, brown vest, and long dark wig with green face paint, Oliver Tree sits on a couch next to a podcast microphone during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. Photo via zach sang show.

“That’s when people appreciate you,” he said, “when you’re not there anymore.”

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Person wearing green face paint, a long dark wig, and a brown vest sits on a white couch next to a podcast microphone.
zach sang show
Person in striped shirt and long dark wig holding two hand puppets against a blue sky background, with the text 'FEO' overlaid.
Oliver Tree poses in a striped Teddy Fresh tee and long dark wig alongside two hand puppets against a sky backdrop, with the word "FEO" overlaid on the image. Photo via @olivertree.
Person with green face paint, long dark wig, and brown vest seated on a white couch next to a branded podcast microphone.
Dressed in a white shirt, brown vest, and long dark wig with green face paint, Oliver Tree sits on a couch next to a podcast microphone during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. Photo via zach sang show.