IT’S A RICH DOG’S LIFE It’s already hard to take that THE Jones’ next door have more money than you. What then if the dog next door is more financially stable than you are. Take Gunther IV, a German Shepherd. When Countess Karlotta Liebenstein of Belgium died in 1992, she left $124-million to her dog, Gunther III. The value of the estate has now grown to $374-million, making Gunther’s offspring, Gunther IV, the richest dog in the world.

Not so lucky was Trouble Helmsley.

When American hotel magnate Leona Helmsley – also know as The Queen of Mean - died in August 2007 at the age of 87, she left $12-million to her Maltese poodle ‘Trouble.’

At the time, Trouble’s annual living expenses included $100,000 for ’round-the-clock security, $8,000 for grooming, $3,000 for miscellaneous expenses, $12,000 for food and anywhere from $2,500 to $18,000 for medical care.

But in the US, where there’s a will, there’s a lawsuit, and Trouble soon ran into trouble.

A Manhattan Judge, along with New York State’s Attorney General’s Office, recently ruled that Leona wasn’t mentally competent when she signed the will.

 

The deal included $6-million in payments to Helmsley’s two disinherited grandchildren who had challenged the validity of the will.

Trouble’s inheritance was slashed to a measly $2-million.

Leona Helmsley earned her nickname ‘The Queen of Mean’ when in her tax evasion trial in 1989, a former housekeeper testified that Helmsley said ‘We don’t pay taxes. Taxes are for the little people.’

She was sentenced to 16 years in prison, but served only 19 months, and two years under house arrest.

Kader Khan
Editor
info@yummie.co.za