Disowned: 5 celebs with severed family ties, from Elon Musk’s trans daughter dropping his name and Brody Jenner being ‘sick of’ Kylie, Kendall and the Kardashians, to Drew Barrymore’s emancipation

Nov 12 , 2022

Woody Allen, Elon Musk and Drew Barrymore have all had some sort of family feud. Photos: Reuters, AFP, @elonrmuskk/Instagram

Tesla billionaire Elon Musk’s trans daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson legally changed her last name, while Drew Barrymore emancipated herself from her parents at 14

Woody Allen’s son Ronan Farrow openly criticises the disgraced director, and fake heiress Anna Sorokin’s father has ‘disowned’ her, but she made bank off Netflix

All families have their problems – but the world’s richest and most famous ones can take it to the next level.

With colossal fortunes and prominent family legacies at stake, is it any wonder that billionaires and ultra-wealthy celebrities routinely find themselves embroiled in family feuds – sometimes so bitter that they find themselves disowned by their closest relatives?

Here are five mega-rich and high-profile individuals who have had parents, children and siblings sever ties with them.

1. Elon Musk

Tech mogul Elon Musk sold several billion dollars in Tesla shares following his expensive purchase of social media firm Twitter. Photo: Getty Images

Twitter’s new CEO and the richest man in the world has made a name for himself as a defender of free – often controversial and at times hateful – speech. The 51-year-old has criticised selecting one’s own pronouns, calling them “an aesthetic nightmare” on Twitter, and recently threw his support behind Ron DeSantis, an American politician known for his anti-LGBTQ+ policies.

Elon Musk with his ex-girlfriend Justine Wilson and their kids. Photo: @elonmusk/Instagram

It appears that was all too painful for Musk’s 18-year-old daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, who is transgender. In June, she filed in court to legally change her gender, as well as her last name from Musk to Wilson, stating that she no longer wished to be associated with her ultra-wealthy father in any way. Musk responded to the sad news by telling the Financial Times, “Can’t win them all.”

2. Woody Allen

US director Woody Allen holds a press conference in July 2019, in the northern Spanish Basque city of San Sebastian. Photo: AFP

The son of actress Mia Farrow and director Woody Allen, Ronan Farrow has made a modest name for himself as a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist. But Ronan, 34, is equally well-known for his outspoken repudiation of his father after allegations that Allen sexually abused his adoptive daughter, Dylan, when she was seven years old.

Ronan Farrow has openly criticised his father, Woody Allen. Photo: @ronanfarrow/Instagram

The two have been estranged for more than 25 years, with Ronan openly criticising Hollywood insiders for their refusal to hold Allen accountable.

3. Anna Sorokin

Anna Sorokin went under the pseudonym Anna Delvey. Photo: @benrayner/Instagram