‘Cash Cows No More?’: Brothers Macaulay and Kieran Culkin Criticized for Not Financially Supporting Their Ailing Mother, Despite Her Helping to Launch Their Successful Careers
Former momanger Patricia Brentrup reportedly lives in poverty while her famous sons enjoy massive wealth from the careers that she helped create, the sons’ stepfather is claiming. While many are shocked that the brothers are alleged not to be taking care of their mother, others believe it’s not their responsibility and that there might be a reason why they are estranged.
The world has known about the Culkin brothers’ bad relationship with their father Kit for years — one even wrote a book about the troubled parent — but recently it’s become clear that things are also strained with their mother and stepfather.
Despite raising them as a single mom after leaving their allegedly abusive father, Patricia is now supposedly struggling financially in a modest Montana home while Macaulay and Kieran have become millionaires through their acting careers, a new tabloid report claims.
The 70-year-old mother of the two actors currently lives in a what appears to be a comfortable ranch-style home on the outskirts of Billings, Montana, but purportedly is struggling financially while her sons enjoy multimillion-dollar fortunes from their successful acting careers.
“They’re both 70 years old and retired,” an unnamed inside source told Daily Mail about Patricia and her husband Mart Cox. “The paychecks aren’t coming in anymore. They’re having a hard time right now. It’s tough.”
Patricia and Cox lead what the source describes as “the simple life” without cellphones or internet access on their 11-acre property, complete with two dogs and four horses.
This supposedly humble existence stands in stark contrast to Macaulay’s reputed $18 million net worth and $8 million mansion in Toluca Lake, California, and Kieran’s estimated $5 million fortune and New York apartment.
According to Cox, Macaulay provides some financial assistance, sending $1,000 monthly to help his mother.
However, Kieran, who won an Oscar for best supporting actor in 2025, reportedly offers no support.
“He never calls,” Cox told Daily Mail. “I don’t expect any help from him or nothing. And I am not a man who would ask.”
Patricia’s health has deteriorated significantly in recent years.
Cox revealed she suffered a stroke and was subsequently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Boom, it just hit and it’s getting worse,” he explained. “Her mind isn’t there anymore. She has a memory of about five minutes.”
The family’s financial situation has worsened, with records showing the couple took out two loans from different mortgage companies in 2020 totaling over $1.2 million.
Despite these struggles, Cox maintains a photo of Kieran’s Oscar acceptance on their refrigerator to help Patricia remember her son’s achievement.
The stepfather has made multiple statements to the public about how the sons are not supporting their sickly mother as they should. The sons have not spoken out about their mother and her condition.
The Culkin family history is marked by turmoil.
Patricia and Kit, the brothers’ father, never married but had a 21-year relationship that produced seven children, according to People.
Kit pushed his children into acting and managed Macaulay’s early career before their relationship fractured. When Macaulay was 15, he took his parents to court to remove them from his trust fund, where they had been taking 15 percent of his earnings per film.
Patricia ended her relationship with Kit in the late 1990s after accusing him of physical abuse, alcoholism, and infidelity. Court documents revealed Kit would abandon Patricia and their children for weeks while fighting to control Macaulay’s fortune.
When Daily Mail readers encountered the story, many questioned the family dynamics.
One reader blamed the stepfather.
“Sounds like her husband is a gaslighter,” the comment read.
Another questioned expectations, “Are these sources expecting Kieran and Macaulay to be paying their parents bills and bought them a big house in a nice area just because they are wealthy? That isn’t how it works.”
A third reader chimed, writing, “Their parents treated their children like a pair of cash cows. What are they expecting from them?”
While another commenter made a pun referencing Macaulay’s famous film, “So, she’s home alone?!”
One more compassionate reader wrote, “Family relationships are complicated, especially when fame and money get involved. No one knows the whole story except those living it.”
Despite the complicated history, Kieran has publicly acknowledged his mother’s sacrifices.
In his 2024 Emmy acceptance speech, he thanked Brentrup “for giving me life and my childhood, which was great.”
Backstage, he described her as “a wonderful woman who took on raising seven kids in a studio apartment, by herself,” while dismissing his father’s role by adding, “There was a guy there – he didn’t do anything.”
The relationship between Patricia and her famous sons remains complicated, with neither Macaulay nor Kieran publicly addressing the root causes of their distance. Questions linger about whether Cox plays a role in the strained family dynamic, but the truth remains hidden behind closed doors.