As I have previously discussed, a “Lucky” dog inherited a small fortune from his previous owner in Texas. Now, a 4-year-old black “fat” cat that goes by the name Tommaso has inherited a large enough fortune to be considered the world’s richest cat. The fat cat inherited about €10 million in property that extends from Milan to Calabria, Italy. The cat’s owner passed her property to her cat through a handwritten will, and asked her lawyer to identify an organization to help take care of the cat. The lawyer was unable to find an organization, but the owner was able to find a friend who would take of her cat after she died. Her friend, named Stefania, was the owner’s nurse and agreed to become the trustee for the cat. She and Tommaso now live at an undisclosed location somewhere outside of Rome.
See John Hooper, Italian Cat Inherits €10m Fortune, The Guardian, Dec. 9, 2011.
Special Thanks to Jeremy Curtis (2010 J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law) and Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.
