Administration of Rubens' Estate on Death.

Rubens passed away on May 30, 1640. He had spent a lot of time on fine-tuning his will. It stated a.o. that his 2nd wife Hélène would get half of everything, plus 50,000 guldenen (an unusual plural for gulden).

It took several years to describe, inventorize and sell goods.
All figures below are expressed in today's US$

• His art collection was assessed and sold by Frans Snijders and Jan Wilders. There were 314 items. Old masters, Rubens' own works and his assistants'.
  Received for this: $4.2 million
• His prints for: $383,000
• Furniture in his Antwerp home: $288,000
• His jewelry and silver: $1 million
• Rubens' clothes: $65,000
• His castle Steen: $6 million
• Land around the castle: $1 million
• For his castle in Ekeren I could not find a figure
• His land around Ekeren castle: $678,000
• Other land and rental property in the country: $396,000
• Rubens was also a landlord and a banker. Rents and outstanding mortgages.
  Rents: $572,000. Outstanding capital: $2.5 million.

In 1645 (5 years after his death) his estate had received $17 million

Hélène continued to live in the Antwerp Rubenshuis for 9 years. After that it was rented out and in 1660 it was sold for $1.2 million.

Ref: P.P. Rubens. Aantekeningen door P. Gerard. Antwerpen. Boekhandel van P. Kockx 1877. pp.45-73