Oliver Tree’s team has shared an update following Oliver Tree’s death in a helicopter crash on June 14, revealing that a special grant will soon be launched in his honor to support artists in need of funds, as stated in his will.
Alongside a merry-go-round of photos of Tree from various trips, performances, and projects over the years, a posthumous post on his Instagram account announced Sunday (June 21) that the musician’s body had been returned to his hometown and final resting place in California. “His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment, the soon-to-be-launched Dr. Oliver Tree’s Very Grand Grant for Genius Babies,” the caption reads. “This was put together before Oliver passed away.”
“We will make sure his wishes come true so that more joy, love and art spreads into the world. That was his last wish,” the message continued, noting that the “constant love, support and positivity” fans have shown over the past week is helping his “family, friends and collaborators get through this very difficult time.”
Tree died along with five other people in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro. The artist was in Brazil as part of his “World First Tour,” with his last performance in São Paulo on June 6th. The others killed in the accident were identified as passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Primm and Lucas Brito Chavez, and pilots Alexandre Sousa and Charles Marsillac.
In the months before his death, Tree spoke of his intention to use his wealth and the profits generated by his music to fund grants to artists on The Zach Sun Show. “I don’t take credit for anything I’ve ever done,” he said on an April episode. “Furthermore, I don’t believe that the wealth and things that come from it are mine. So when I die…my will is such that when I die, no one in my family or anyone else gets a penny.”
“Even if I have a wife and children and so on, they don’t get a dime,” he added at the time, explaining that the purpose of the grant was to fund actual artistic creation, not education. “I’m going to send my kids to college. That’s the agreement, but there’s no silver spoon. All the money goes back to the artists.”
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