Lawyers for Maria Assunta, widow of an Italian property tycoon who died at the age of 94 two weeks ago, revealed she bequeathed her entire fortune to her cat, Tommaso. The estate, valued at $13 million, includes cash and properties in Rome, Milan and Calabria.
Anna Orecchioni, one of the woman’s lawyers, announced the windfall. When Assunta’s health began to fail, she wanted to leave her money to an animal welfare association or group and have the group take care of Tommaso. However, no organization seemed to satisfy her.
Orecchioni told the UK’s Daily Telegraph that Assunta decided to leave her wealth to the cat via her nurse, Stefania, who took care of Assunta until she died. The lawyers are not releasing Stefania’s last name or address for security reasons.
“She had become very fond towards the nurse who assisted her,” Orecchioni said to Il Messaggero newspaper. “We’re convinced that Stefania is the right person to carry out the old lady’s wishes. She loves animals just like the woman she devoted herself to right up until the end.”
Stefania told the Telegraph that she didn’t know the woman she cared for was wealthy.
“The old lady suffered from loneliness,” she said. “She looked after that cat more than you’d look after a son.”
Tommaso is a four-year-old male stray Assunta rescued from the streets of Rome. Tommaso’s lawyers told ABC News that they are getting lots of emails from people wanting to adopt Tommaso. With this announcement, Tommaso is now No. 3 on the list of world’s wealthiest pets. No. 1 is Kalu the chimp whose owner left him $80 million and No. 2 is Gunther IV, a German shepherd who inherited $372 million from his father, Gunther III, a beloved companion of a German countess.
Read the full ABC News article here.
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