George Michael secretly gave away millions — and didn’t want anyone to know.

The British singer-songwriter who first captured hearts with Wham! and later achieved worldwide success as a solo artist died on Christmas Day 2016. Known for his enduring hits and unmistakable voice, Michael also remained a fixture in the headlines for his often-public personal life.

While his public life was endlessly scrutinized, some of Michael’s most extraordinary deeds remained largely unknown. The late star, who would have turned 63 on June 25, is the subject of a new book, “Tonight the Music Seems So Loud.”

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Following George Michael’s death in 2016, the public learned the true extent of his quiet generosity. For years, he donated millions — often anonymously — to causes including children’s welfare, HIV/AIDS charities, homeless shelters and disadvantaged youth programs. He also funded IVF treatments, helped people in debt and supported countless individuals in need without seeking recognition. (Michael Putland/Getty Images)

“We will never know how much George Michael gave away because it was secret,” author Sathnam Sanghera told Fox News Digital. 

“He died with a net worth of around 97 million pounds (more than $128 million), but I suspect a lot of that money is still being given away by his estate. The estate releases annual statements about the donations it has made. So his good work continues.”

George Michael, left, and Paul McCartney, right, perform during the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park, London, on July 2, 2005. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

For Sanghera, Michael’s greatest achievement was compassion. Throughout his life, Michael frequently donated to charities supporting disabled children, cancer research, refugees and AIDS-related causes, just to name a few.

He began supporting charities as early as the 1980s while he was in Wham!, and his dedication continued for the rest of his life. As he quietly made large donations, Michael ensured they remained out of the public eye.

“Tonight the Music Seems So Loud: The Meaning of George Michael” by Sathnam Sanghera is available now. (Pegasus Books)

“George Michael was an incredible secret philanthropist, and the secrecy is what made it great,” Sanghera explained. “We’re only just finding out some of his charitable acts. For example, he gave away the first few years of royalties from ‘Last Christmas,’ one of the most successful pop songs of all time, to Band Aid, a U.K. charity aimed at combating hunger and poverty.”

WATCH: GEORGE MICHAEL DONATED MILLIONS WITHOUT SEEKING CREDIT: AUTHOR

“He gave away the U.K. royalties from his ‘Best Of’ album in the 1990s,” Sanghera shared. “There are so many charities and individuals who have come forward to say, ‘He secretly paid for my IVF when he heard about my story on TV,’ for example.”

George Michael presents during the BRIT Awards held at the O2 Arena in London on Feb. 21, 2012. (Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)

Michael didn’t just give money — he gave his time. At a homeless shelter in London, he served food, sat with guests and listened to their stories. The book recounts how he would show up in jeans and a baseball cap, preferring anonymity to recognition. If someone commented that he resembled George Michael, he would chuckle and insist he got that comparison all the time.

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! perform in Japan in January 1985. (Michael Putland/Getty Images)

“His ex-boyfriend, Kenny Goss, has spoken about how he was given a job at every venue where George Michael played to identify a local charity and donate £20,000 to £30,000 to it,” Sanghera said. 

“Often, it had to do with children or nurses. And he would also invite the staff and beneficiaries of that charity to attend the concert. This is the way in which his philanthropy was routine as part of what he did day-to-day.”

George Michael and his partner Kenny Goss are seen here in Tokyo. (Nathan Shanahan/WireImage)

In 1990, Michael established the Platinum Trust, where, with the help of his sister Yioda, he supported disabled people. Michael donated royalties from his 1991 duet with Elton John, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” to the Terrence Higgins Trust, a London-based HIV awareness organization, The Associated Press reported, as cited by NPR.

Fans lay tributes of flowers, photographs and candles outside the home of pop music icon George Michael in The Grove, Highgate, on Dec. 28, 2016, in London. (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

According to the outlet, proceeds from 1996’s “Jesus to a Child” went to Childline. The founder of the organization went on to tell the outlet that Michael donated millions of dollars over the years and urged everyone in the charity to keep his acts private. 

In 1999, when Michael performed at Net Aid to help refugees from Kosovo, he donated half a million pounds. Sanghera wrote that Michael was “annoyed” when the news leaked.

British singer-songwriter George Michael of Wham! sits in a Sydney hotel room during the pop duo’s 1985 world tour. (Michael Putland/Getty Images)

“There are so many stories about his generosity,” Sanghera told Fox News Digital. “There’s one story where his mother was sick with cancer at a local London hospital. After she passed, he put on a concert for all those nurses in the local community.”

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Princess Diana meets George Michael at the World AIDS Day annual “Concert of Hope” at Wembley Arena in London on Dec. 1, 1993. (Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images)

While his career soared and his personal life often played out in public, Michael continued supporting those in need.

“Along with Eric Clapton, he helped the family of Nigel Browne, a former bodyguard, win compensation after he was killed in a helicopter crash,” Sanghera wrote.

Linda Evangelista and George Michael pose during the “Too Funky” video shoot in Paris, circa 1992. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

“He helped Martin Kemp, whom he set up with Shirlie Holliman, get life-saving treatment for a brain tumor. He played benefit gigs, raising money and awareness for famine relief, World AIDS Day, refugees, debt relief and Project Angel Food, which provides food to vulnerable Los Angeles residents suffering from critical and life-threatening illnesses.

George Michael and Elton John attend a gala dinner on behalf of AIDS victims at the Moulin Rouge in Paris on Oct. 11, 1994. (Stephane Cardinale/Sygma)

“… One time, studio colleague Johnny Douglas talked about how Michael not only allowed him to take a terminally ill child to his home in the south of France, but also provided a helicopter to pick them up and drop them off in the garden.

“He bought friends and relatives houses and cars in striking quantities, provided some with employment, and I lose count of the number of people I meet who tell me he paid for medical bills, funerals and housing in times of crisis,” Sanghera wrote. “On his death, his significant art collection was sold, raising more than £11 million for charity.”

George Michael performs on stage during his “Faith” tour at Earls Court Arena in London on June 15, 1988. (Pete Still/Redferns)

Sanghera told Fox News Digital he was stunned by the sheer amount of money Michael donated over the years. As he researched, he also lost count of the people who came forward with stories of how the singer had helped them behind the scenes, far from the public eye. Many of those stories poured in after Michael’s death.

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George Michael died of natural causes as the result of heart disease and a fatty liver, a British coroner announced in 2017. (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

“George Michael supported charities that weren’t necessarily glamorous for a pop star,” Sanghera said. “[Still], he gave away millions of pounds. His estate continues to support those charities in significant ways.”

In 1993, The Independent reported that Michael didn’t like to discuss his charity work. But that year, he was ready to talk, specifically about the charity album that he recorded for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, an AIDS-fighting organization founded in honor of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

George Michael died on Dec. 25, 2016, at the age of 53. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

“Everyone’s got really p—– off listening to celebrities patting each other on the back saying how generous they are being,” he told the outlet at the time. “And they are right to. The reason I am doing this interview is to support the Phoenix Trust. It’s very important these tracks get heard.”

George Michael walks over the red carpet before the screening of “George Michael – A Different Story” at the Berlin Film Festival on Feb. 16, 2005. (Michael Kappeler/DDP/AFP)

Sanghera stressed that Michael was no saint. But the evidence of his generosity is undeniable. And when it comes to the lives he touched, it’s easy to have faith.

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Singer George Michael leaves The Ivy restaurant in Hollywood on Dec. 7, 2001. (Scott Alfieri/Getty Images)

“He wrote a song called ‘Praying for Time,’ and there’s a lyric in that song where he complains about charity being ‘a coat you wear twice a year,'” Sanghera said. “… Charity means more when it is sincerely meant, when you do it without hoping to get anything out of it. And that’s what George Michael did.”

In their first joint studio presentation at Annecy’s lakeside Bonlieu theater, DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation unveiled Thursday a next wave of animated projects for the years to come, including DC Studios’ first-ever anime series, “Joker: Laugh Riot,” Scott Snyder’s take on “Absolute Batman” and a new “Krypto” series by “Spongebob” alum C.H. Greenblatt.

“Batman” and animation fans in the Annecy audience went wild as Peter Safran, co‑chairman and co‑CEO, DC Studios, and Sam Register, president, Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studio, and Hanna‑Barbera Studios Europe, unveiled the three projects on stage alongside Warner Bros. Animation showrunners and executive producers who shared first looks and creative insights into the next era of DC animation.

As anime builds huge traction in the U.S. and global markets, Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios are teaming up with Sola Entertainment to bring “Joker: Laugh Riot” to fans worldwide.

Helmed by “ChaO” award-winning director Yasuhiro Aoki, who previously worked on Warner Bros Animation and Sola’s joint feature “The Lords of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” the trailblazing show will take viewers alongside the Joker, as he launches a ruthless crusade through Gotham’s underworld to find Batman’s killer, who took away his greatest adversary —and, incidentally, his own kill. But as his violent quest for answers pushes him closer towards vigilante than villain, Joker is forced to confront the truth that without Batman, he doesn’t know who he is.

This brand new anime series comes as WBA and DC continue to push for more anime content, thanks to the support and insights of Jason DeMarco, senior VP, action and anime development at Warner Bros. Animation who produced “War of the Rohirrim,” alongside a “Rick and Morty” anime adaptation and “Lazarus” and “Uzumaki” series with Adult Swim.

In front of what Register dubbed “the best audience in the world for animation,” the announcement of an animated adaption of “Absolute Batman,” the award-winning and best-selling DC comic book series, was met with raucous applause and cheers by the Annecy’s crowd. Register and Safran, along with Peter Girardi, executive vice president, alternative programming atWarner Bros. Animation, unveiled the new adult animated series project, written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta, as creators shared first look images of the upcoming series. Scott Snyder will serve as executive producer and showrunner, with Dragotta as producer.

The comic book series has sold more than 6 million copies to date, with the first issue of “Absolute Batman” reaching an eleventh edition. All “Absolute” titles, including “Absolute Batman,” rank among the top 10 best-selling comics of 2025.

Beyond adult animation, Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios also revealed Thursday that a new “Krypto” animated series had been greenlit, with “Chowder,” “Jellystone” creator-writer C.H. Greenblatt set to drive this fun-filled, super-canine adventure.

The series, currently under development, follows Krypto as he tags along with a gang of misfit criminal wannabes who live down the block. They soon discover he’s a ball of destructive, lovable energy worse than any of them! As he accompanies them into misadventures and poorly laid plans, Krypto’s pure nature slowly ends up redeeming them, whether they want it or not.

Beyond these three greenlights, Safran, Register and Girardi shared updates on both adult, young adult and kids upcoming tv series, underlining the strong commitment both studios have in bringing DC characters to global audiences of all ages.

Adult animated fan-favorite shows “Creatures Commandos,” “Batman: Caped Crusader” both got the Bonlieu audience on its feet, the latter launching on Prime Video on July 31. New shows such as “Mister Miracle” were met with cheers and interest from the animation-loving crowd, as author Tom King shared his passion for this character. Under roaring applause from Annecy’s audience, King shared how grafetul he felt for bringing his comic series to life. “Today, as animation keeps reaching new heights, I am deeply convinced we can create our own ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘Sopranos,’ ‘Mad Men’ level shows. And I’m truly happy to bring ‘Mr Miracle’ to the screen.”

On the Vertigo side of DC, “Get Jiro” is set to premiere this fall on Adult Swim. The show has a long history with Annecy, as WBA announced it here three years ago, before bringing it to a riveting work-in-progress session last year in Annecy as well.

Previously teased young adults, kids & family series included “My Adventures with Green Lantern,” a brand-new magical-girl inspired series from the “Adventure-verse,” kickstarted by Jake Wyatt’s 2023 hit “My Adventures with Superman,” “Starfire!,” presented by executive producer Josie Campbell, and Matt Bean’s “DC Super Powers,” while Safran and Register confirmed that the tenth season of “Teen Titans Go,” now DC’s longest running show ever, was currently in production. An achievement celebrated in the best possible way: with a small clip from the DC, Warner Bros animation teams, in wonderful Annecy fashion.

Safran, who attended Annecy this year for the first time, underlined how much the event had absolutely outdone his expectations. “Everyone in the team kept talking to me about it. Know I understand why.” In fact, as we write, the co-chairman and CEO of DC Studios might very well have booked his 2027 plane ticket already.

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