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Oliver Tree Dead at 32 After Helicopter Crash in Brazil
The world is still reeling after the shocking death of Oliver Tree.
After the 32-year-old was killed in a helicopter collision in Brazil on June 14, fans revisited some of his recent interviews—including one filmed just two months before his death during which Tree discussed his plans for his will.
"I don't believe that any of the wealth or the things that get made from it is mine,” he said during the April 24 episode of the Zach Sang Show. “So, when I die—I've set it up—my will is set up that when I pass, my family, no one's going to get a penny.”
Adding that in the case he ended up with a wife and kids, Tree noted, “I’ll get my kids through college. That's the agreement. But they're not going to be a silver spoon. They're taken care of because my dad worked on some stuff in the 2000s.”
Instead, the “Miss You” singer has a larger vision for what would happen to his wealth after his death.
“The idea is when I die, all the money is going to go back to artists,” Tree continued. “So, I've set up a foundation. It's called Dr. Oliver Tree's Art Grants for Baby Geniuses. And it's set up so that basically the interest generated from my music will take mostly that, but there's also room for other money because when I die, my art will continue to have residuals and probably be worth more than it is now.”
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella
As he put it, “People will finally appreciate my stupid f--king videos or my stupid f--king songs. That's when people appreciate you, when you're not there anymore. So, the art will continue to make money no matter what.”
Tree’s interview now serves as an eerie, heartbreaking foreshadowing of what was to come. Less than two months later, Tree was one of six passengers—the others including Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim (known as Argentinian YouTuber Gaspi) and Lucas Brito Chaves, as well as pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac—killed when two helicopters collided while flying over an electric vehicle yard in the southwest zone of Rio.
Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images
A formal investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash, local Civil Police told CNN Brazil, and a forensic examination of the scene has been requested.
Following the tragic accident, Zach Sang, too, reflected on filming the podcast episode with Tree.
“This is hard to process,” he wrote on his June 14 Instagram Story. “We just sat together a few weeks ago. He was one of one. Oliver, thank you for the laughter, the stories, and the art.”
He concluded, “Rest in peace my friend.”
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