The World's Richest Cat
The black cat Tommaso, a four-year-old stray, has become the world's richest cat. A woman who died in Italy last month has left her beloved pet cat a whopping $13.5 million (€10 million) fortune in her will.
According to a lawyer for Maria Assunta, under Italian law, Tommaso also known as Tommasino — is not entitled to inherit the money directly. Newly minted millionarie Tommaso is living with his owner's nurse outside Rome. But the former stray's owner was able to name a trustee to care for the black male kitty. That person has only been identified as Stefania, the 94-year-old woman's nurse. Lawyer Anna Orecchioni told Rome's Il Messaggero newspaper that Stefania met the older woman in a park and was hired to take care of her. Assunta had become very fond toward the nurse who assisted her,” Orecchioni said. Assunta had no living relatives. Her nurse is quoted by Britain's Daily Telegraph as saying she had no idea Assunta was so wealthy.
The black cat Tommaso, a four-year-old stray, has become the world's richest cat. A woman who died in Italy last month has left her beloved pet cat a whopping $13.5 million (€10 million) fortune in her will.According to a lawyer for Maria Assunta, under Italian law, Tommaso also known as Tommasino — is not entitled to inherit the money directly. Newly minted millionarie Tommaso is living with his owner's nurse outside Rome. But the former stray's owner was able to name a trustee to care for the black male kitty. That person has only been identified as Stefania, the 94-year-old woman's nurse. Lawyer Anna Orecchioni told Rome's Il Messaggero newspaper that Stefania met the older woman in a park and was hired to take care of her. Assunta had become very fond toward the nurse who assisted her,” Orecchioni said. Assunta had no living relatives. Her nurse is quoted by Britain's Daily Telegraph as saying she had no idea Assunta was so wealthy.
“The old lady suffered from loneliness,” Stefania said. “She looked after that cat more than you’d look after a son. “I promised her that I would look after the cat when she was no longer around. She wanted to be sure that Tommaso would be loved and cuddled. But I never imagined that she had this sort of wealth,” she said. Tommaso and Stefania, who takes care of a second cat, are living outside Rome at an undisclosed address. Talk about a fat cat! A 4-year-old feline in Italy is now $13 million richer. Under Italian law, animals cannot inherit directly, but can be named beneficiaries. A nurse who befriended the wealthy woman promised to take care of the cat after her death, but said she never knew her friend was so rich.
Tommaso, a four-year-old, one-time stray from Rome, is thought to have become the world's richest cat. Since the death of his 94-year-old mistress last month, he has become a property magnate — or perhaps mognate — with flats and houses worth an estimated €10m scattered from Milan in the north to Calabria in the south. In a handwritten will, signed on 26 November, 2009, Tommaso's mistress — the childless widow of a successful builder — gave her lawyers the task of identifying "the animal welfare body or association to which to leave the inheritance and the task of looking after the cat Tommaso".
One of the lawyers, Anna Orecchioni, told the Rome daily Il Messaggero they considered several organisations without getting adequate guarantees of the cat's future comfort and welfare. In the meantime, the old lady met a fellow cat-lover – named only as Stefania – in a park. "Sometimes I'd go to her house so my cat could play with Tommaso," Stefania said. As the old lady became increasingly frail, Stefania, a nurse, began to take care of her. "She needed someone to help her move around, shower and eat. I looked after until the end," she said. Under Italian law, animals cannot inherit directly. But they can be beneficiaries if a suitable trustee is found. The elderly widow decided to entrust the cat – and his fortune – to Stefania. Tommaso's trustee, who is now looking after him an undisclosed address outside Rome, said: "I had no idea the signora had such wealth." But the fortune pales by comparison with that of Gunther IV, an Alsatian who inherited from his father Gunther III, the pet of a German countess. According to the Pet Gazette, he is worth around $372m. The richest cat was previously thought to be Blackie, who was left £9m by his reclusive British owner in 1988.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(
Atom
)
No comments :
Post a Comment