Clifford Irving Net Worth, Relationships, Age/Birthdate & Birthday Facts

Clifford Irving Net Worth, Relationships, Age/Birthdate & Birthday

Clifford Irving was an American novelist and investigative reporter best known for orchestrating one of the most notorious literary hoaxes in modern publishing history. His career blended literary success with scandal, leaving a legacy of both creative output and controversy.

Introduction

Clifford Michael Irving was born on November 5, 1930 in New York City, United States. His writing career spanned novels, investigative reporting, and historical works. Despite literary output that included more than 20 books, he is most widely remembered for the controversial fake autobiography of billionaire Howard Hughes, a saga that garnered worldwide attention. His estimated net worth at the time of his death has been put at around $5 million, reflecting lifetime earnings from publishing and subsequent projects.  Irving was married multiple times and survived by his last spouse and three sons. 

Quick Facts (Table Summary)

From Ambitious Writer to World-Wide Infamy

Clifford Irving’s story begins in a creative family. Born to Jay Irving, a noted cartoonist and illustrator, and his wife Dorothy, he grew up immersed in storytelling and artistic expression. Irving’s early promise was evident: he attended Manhattan’s High School of Music and Art and later Cornell University, graduating with honors in English. 

He started his professional writing journey with novels such as On a Darkling Plain (1956) and continued producing fiction throughout the 1950s and 1960s.  Yet it was a bold, ethically questionable project — a purported “authorized autobiography” of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes — that catapulted him into global headlines.

Defining moments in Clifford Irving’s journey include:

• Publishing a series of novels in the late 1950s and 1960s. 

• Writing Fake!, a book about art forger Elmyr de Hory, which foreshadowed Irving’s fascination with truth and deception. 

• Pitching and selling a fake Howard Hughes autobiography — leading to huge advances and global attention. 

• Convicting and serving prison time for fraud after the hoax was exposed. 

• Returning to writing and publishing later works, including his own account The Hoax. 

The Core Pillars of Irving’s Wealth

Primary Sources of Earnings

Though Irving’s finances were never publicly documented by major outlets like Forbes or Bloomberg, biographical summaries suggest:

• Book advances and royalties: Early novels and non-fiction works brought standard publishing advances and subsequent royalties. 

• Hughes autobiography advance: The fraudulent advance from McGraw-Hill alone was upwards of $750,000 in the early 1970s — a staggering sum for the period. 

• Later publishing and rights sales: Continued income from ongoing publishing and reprints, including e-book editions.

While exact financial breakdowns are not independently audited, estimators place his net worth at roughly $5 million at the end of his life — reflecting sustained book earnings but diminished by the legal and reputational consequences of the hoax. 

Relationships & Personal Life

Irving’s personal life was as complex as his professional one. He married six times over the course of his life. 

Key relationships and family details:

• Nina Wilcox — first wife (annulled). 

• Claire Lydon — second wife; died in an automobile accident. 

• Fay Desch — third wife; with whom he had one son. 

• Edith Sommer — fourth wife, involved in the Howard Hughes hoax controversy; mother of two sons. 

• Maureen “Moish” Earl — fifth wife. 

• Julie Schall — sixth wife, married in 1998 and survived him.

Key insights into Clifford Irving’s relationships and personal life:

• Irving’s marriages often intersected with his creative and scandal-ridden years.

• His union with Edith Sommer was directly tied to the mechanics of the Hughes hoax, including the opening of bank accounts in false names. 

• He fostered a complex personal image — charismatic, controversial, and endlessly fascinated by narrative and identity. 

Lifestyle, Assets & Passions

Beyond his writing and notoriety, Irving’s life included travel, immersion in artistic communities, and deep engagement with storytelling across genres.

Beyond career success, Clifford Irving led a lifestyle that reflected both passion and purpose, including:

• Living in literary and creative hubs like Ibiza and Mexico. 

• Engaging with topics ranging from crime fiction to historical narrative. 

• Influencing film and media through adaptations of his work. 

Net Worth Breakdown & Analysis

Because Irving’s financial profile was never officially documented by outlets like Forbes or Bloomberg, his net worth estimates come from retrospective biography and industry estimates:

*The advance from the hoax was largely repaid following legal action.

Public Image, Legacy & Influence

Irving’s legacy is paradoxical: he’s both celebrated as a talented writer and remembered for arguably the most audacious publishing hoax of the 20th century. His work The Hoax and the film adaptation starring Richard Gere have kept his story in the cultural consciousness.

He influenced discussions about authenticity in literature and ethical boundaries in artistic creation, making his life story a staple in analyses of journalistic integrity, literary risk, and personal reinvention. 

Conclusion

Clifford Irving’s journey from novelist to infamous hoaxer — and his continued creative output afterwards — is a tale of ambition, notoriety, and narrative power. Born on November 5, 1930, his age/birthdate and birthday mark the beginning of a life lived at the intersection of literary artifice and real-world consequence. His estimated net worth, multiple relationships, and complex personal life reflect a figure perpetually in motion — often toward story first, and reputation second.