What was controversial about Colonel Tom Parker’s management of Elvis Presley?

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Colonel Tom Parker charged exceptionally high fees, at times as high as 50 percent of Elvis Presley’s earnings. Furthermore, he made several deals that were not in Presley’s best interest. In 1973 he sold Presley’s entire back catalog to RCA for $5.4 million and took half the buyout sum. The buyout meant that Presley would no longer receive royalties for all his hits of the 1950s and ’60s. After his death in 1977, Presley’s estate sued Parker for fraud and mismanagement. The case was settled in 1983.