Graceland Secrets: What Really Happens Inside Elvis Presley’s $500 Million Estate

Any Elvis Presley fan knows that his Graceland home on Elvis Presley Boulevard in Memphis, Tenn., is one of the most visited celebrity homes of all time. Filled with secrets, an inaccessible second floor and thousands of tourists each day, it truly is a castle fit for a king. And now, Woman’s World is taking you inside the almost $500 million estate and discovering what really went on both during Elvis’s time and even after in the form of some fun behind-the-scenes facts and photos. 

Elvis bought the house in 1957 

Back when he was just 22, Elvis purchased Graceland for $100,000, which is equivalent to approximately $1,144,000 today. Prior to that, the land belonged to the S.C. Toof family and was even named after a relative of theirs named Grace. It was built in 1929 and has 500 acres of land all around it. 

Following the purchase, Elvis stocked the house with all of his favorite snacks—including peanut butter—and remained there, with his pet chimpanzee Scatter, until he died in 1977. The property now belongs to the “Jailhouse Rock” singer’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, who is the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley. 

“My hope is to continue what my grandmother [Priscilla Presley] did, and then my mother did, which is simply to preserve our family home,” Riley told People magazine in September 2024. 

Elvis is buried there, but wasn’t always 

Despite popular belief, Elvis wasn’t always buried in Graceland. When he died in 1977, his body was put in a 900-lb., steel-lined, copper-plated coffin next to his mother Gladys Presley in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis.. However, shortly after the burial, three men tried to steal Elvis’ remains and sell them for ransom. They were unsuccessful, and it was then decided that Elvis and Gladys’ bodies would be moved to Graceland. 

They were joined by Elvis’ father, Vernon, his stillborn twin brother Jessie, his daughter Lisa Marie and his grandson, Benjamin. All of these graves are available to visit for free on the Graceland property

The second floor is off-limits to almost everyone

Graceland might be open for tours; however, there is one place people cannot go: The second floor, where Elvis died.

Over the years, several people have attempted to see what’s up there, including presidents, but they were never allowed. The only person who isn’t a family member to have been up there was actor Nicolas Cage, who was married to Lisa Marie from 2003 to 2004. There are also no photos available of the second floor, and it’s believed that it’s closed off out of respect for the family and Elvis’ legacy. 

Naturally, there are rumors as to why the second floor isn’t accessible, including the one where people believed that Elvis never died and instead lived up there, but none of them were ever confirmed… or denied. 

Graceland is the second most-visited home in the country 

On average, Graceland receives over 650,000 visitors per year, including both paying and non-paying guests. It is second only to the White House, home to the President of the United States as well as his family. 

Graceland is open for tours today, which are narrated by Full House star John Stamos, and can cost anywhere from $51 to $250. To learn more and purchase tickets, click here! If you do go, you might even see one of Elvis’ family members, according to his granddaughter Riley. 

“The tours start in the morning, and they end at 4, so if we were to stay in the house, Elvis’ room and my mother’s room are not part of the tour, so we would stay upstairs and have to wait, basically,” Riley said, per People. “We’d get stuck until the tours were over. If we didn’t get out before 10 [a.m.], we were stuck there until like 5 p.m.”