German woman leaves $7.5 million to her neighbors

Following the death of their neighbor, residents of a community in Germany inherited property and stock worth $7.5 million. 

Renate Wedel and her husband Alfred Wedel lived in central Germany after moving there in 1975. Alfred, who died in 2014, was successful in the stock exchange. Renate, had been in a nursing home from 2016 up until her death in December 2019 at the age of 81. 

Renate’s neighbors recently found out that Renate had bequeathed her bank balance, shares, and valuables to them. Renate’s sister was the original heir, but she passed away prior to Renate’s death.

Not only were the neighbors surprised, but the windfall came as a surprise to the authorities. The mayor stated, “I thought at first, this is simply not possible, I thought a comma had slipped, something is not quite right.”

“The community is obliged to use the inheritance for ‘community facilities and infrastructure.'” 

See Nadine Schmidt & Amy Woodyatt, German woman leaves $7.5 million to her neighbors, CNN, December 4, 2020.