Lisa Marie Presley wanted daughter Riley, not Priscilla, to take over legacy: Graceland exec

Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of icon Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, trusted her daughter Riley to carry on the family’s legacy instead of her mother.

On February 1, which would’ve been Lisa Marie’s 55th birthday, a managing partner at Elvis Presley Enterprises, Joel Weinshanker, revealed the late singer’s last wishes.

Before her death, Joel claimed that Lisa Marie was “very, very quite certain and quite direct about who she wanted to have the legacy [left] to.”

“That was always Riley and Ben. There was never a question in her mind that they would be the stewards, that they would look at it exactly the way she did. Obviously, when Ben passed, it really sat with Riley,” he said during an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Elvis Radio.”

PRISCILLA PRESLEY SPEAKS OUT ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN LISA MARIE’S 55TH BIRTHDAY

Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of icon Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, trusted her daughter Riley to carry on the family’s legacy instead of her mother.
(Instagram)

“Although Riley is a movie star, she’s an award-winning director, she had always had an interest and had always known that one day, she would be in charge of [things].”

After her recent death on January 12, Lisa Marie’s daughters Riley, Harper and Finley will receive Graceland, which is in a trust, a representative for Graceland confirmed with Fox News Digital.

Lisa Marie previously removed Priscilla and a former business manager as trustees and replaced them with her two oldest children, Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough, if she died or became incapacitated.
(Getty Images)

“Lisa Marie’s daughters inherit everything,” the rep continued.

Joel got candid about the Presley family and noted that Elvis wanted his only daughter Lisa Marie to keep his legacy alive.

“When Elvis passed away, he left everything to his little girl. He did so knowing that she would be the one to keep his legacy going,” he remarked. 

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“I can tell you that she has, without falter, no matter what else was happening in her life, in her career, always been the one to look at what was best for Elvis…regardless of what somebody else was trying to do, regardless of what another family member [was trying to] do.”

Meanwhile, Priscilla Presley spoke out on her daughter’s birthday and stated she plans to “keep our family together” as she continues to mourn Lisa Marie.

“Today would have been Lisa’s 55th birthday. My wish is to protect my three grandchildren and keep our family together,” she told Fox News Digital in part.

LISA MARIE PRESLEY, ELVIS AND PRISCILLA’S ONLY CHILD, DEAD AT 54

A managing partner at Elvis Presley Enterprises, Joel Weinshanker, got candid about the Presley family and noted that Elvis wanted his only daughter Lisa Marie to keep his legacy alive.
(Getty Images)

Priscilla Presley’s comments come as she has filed documents to dispute who oversees her late daughter’s estate.

The documents were filed in January in the Los Angeles Superior Court to dispute the validity of a 2016 amendment to Lisa Marie’s living trust.

Lisa Marie previously removed Priscilla and a former business manager as trustees and replaced them with her two oldest children, Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough, if she died or became incapacitated.

Lisa Marie’s son, Benjamin Keough, died in 2020.

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Joel added that his reason for speaking out about the Presley family is “sometimes you just got to take a stand.”

“It’s Riley. It’s what Lisa would’ve wanted. It’s what makes sense. It always comes back to what’s best for Elvis and that’s what that is,” he suggested.

“… I think what we need to do on her birthday is honor her words. Those were her words, not mine, and it’s something that we all want to think about going forward… What we need to do is we need to honor the ones that honor Elvis, and that was always, always his daughter, Lisa.”

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Fox News Digital has reached out to reps for Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough for comment.