Wills & Trusts of Rich & Famous People

More Facts, Trivia, and Exerpts

Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who died in 322 B.C. According to his will, Aristotle chose his daughter’s spouse before he died, and he gave his daughter permission to use his ancestral home as long as she did not disgrace her father’s name.

Peter The Czar
Peter the Czar of Russia, who died in 1725, left a will detailing a battle plan and strategic plan for Russians to conquer Europe.

William Shakespeare
The playwright, who died in 1616, left substantial wealth in real estate to his two daughters. Shakespeares will said nothing about his writings, which led some to believe that others wrote them in his name.

Robert Louis Stevenson
The British writer, who died in 1850, requested in his last will that he be buried in Samoa, at the top of Mt. Vaea, an area described in his novel, Requiem.

Charles Dickens
The wills of famous people like novelist Charles Dickens sometimes contain surprising instructions for their funerals. Dickens requested that no one at the funeral wear typical mourning garb: no scarf, cloak, black bow, long hatband, or other such revolting absurdity.

George Orwell
The wills of famous people sometimes turn back the hands of time on fame. Do not look too hard for a gravestone marking the grave of this famous British novelist, who died in 1950. He instructed that his grave be marked with his real name, Eric Arthur Blair.

Conrad Cantzen
The American actor, who died in 1945, left over $200,000 in his will to establish a shoe fund, for people who could not afford to buy shoes.

W.C. Fields
When the American comedian died in 1946, he left $700,000-thats all they found anyway. Fields was so secretive, that it was estimated an additional $600,000 was left in bank accounts all over the world that he opened in secret.

Marilyn Monroe
Ms. Monroes estate was eventually declared to be insolvent. Initially, she set up a $100,000 trust to take care of her mother; she gave $25,000 to friends and left her personal effects to Lee Strasberg, who taught her acting.

Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is remembered by many as America’s greatest ever president, and by others not so fondly. Among the others might be members of his extended family, as Lincoln was the only US President to die intestate. As one of the presidents who was assassinated he can maybe be excused this oversight, and his overall worth was awarded to his wife and two sons – a sum of over $110,000. Notably, in a move that would be looked upon with surprise in these days when future earnings are taken into account in many jobs, the US Congress stopped Lincoln’s salary from the day after his death – something that would never come to pass today. Surprisingly, President Lincolns will postponed the freedom of his wifes slaves until after she had died. It just goes to show that wills of famous people can be full of surprises.

Doris Duke Will (1913-1993)
The tobacco heiress had a $1.2 billion estate that was the subject of much litigation. A New York judge ordered the removal of two co-executors of Duke's $1.2 billion estate. The court found that Duke's butler Bernard Lafferty was squandering her estate to support his "profligate life style" and that United States Trust Company failed to slow down Lafferty's spending.

Jerry Garcia Will (1942-1995)
The leader of the Grateful Dead was a counterculture icon. In his will, he remembers friends and family, giving out personal mementos, including his guitars.

Harry Helmsley Will
The New York billionaire real estate magnate Harry B. Helmsley, whose holdings included the Empire State Building and some of New York City's most posh hotels, died Jan. 4, 1997, leaving an estate estimated at $1.7 billion. Except for a bequest to his secretary, Helmsley left his estate to his wife, Leona Helmsley, who is also named as executor of the will.

David Packard Will (1912-1996)
The co-founder of Hewlett-Packard left the majority of his holdings, estimated at $6.6 billion, to the charitable foundation named for him and his late wife. The transfer of assets made the David and Lucille Packard Foundation one of the wealthiest charities in the world.

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson Will (1889-1951)
The legendary baseball player was permanently banned from the game for his part in the "Black Six Scandal" of the 1919 World Series. His will was the subject of litigation in 1995 when two charities who were beneficiaries of his wife's estate sued to gain possession of the original because of its value to sports memorabilia collectors.

Babe Ruth Will (1895-1948)
"The Sultan of Swat" grew up in an institution for underprivileged boys. Dominating baseball as a home run hitter, Ruth became a national celebrity. Famous for his charitable deeds, he once promised to hit a homer for a hospitalized boy. A year before he died, he established and endowed the Babe Ruth Foundation for destitute children.

Charles Millar, the Toronto lawyer who died without procreating, and with no close relatives in his circle. With a lot of money to give away, Millar hit upon a plan – he left his entire fortune to "the Mother who has given birth to the greatest number of children" in the city. Dying in 1927, Millar provoked a race to procreate, which ended up being called "the Stork Derby" by newspapers. At the end of the race, it was found that there were four winners – each with nine children, they divided $568,000 among themselves despite several legal challenges to the will on the grounds that it promoted "immorality".

Many people will see their will as the chance to say all of the things that they just could not bring themselves to say while they were alive. Their biggest regrets, their profound encouragement to family members who found emotional discussions a little bit embarrassing in everyday life, and any secrets that they promised to take to the grave with them. Your last words to be spoken on earth, albeit by the executor of your estate, it is a chance to be as flowery as you never dared be while alive.

The shortest known legal will in history is that of Bimla Rishi of Delhi, sometimes referred to as Dilli. His will, dated February 9, 1995, translated from Hindi as "all to son". The January 19, 1967 will of Karl Tausch consisted solely of the phrase vše žene "all to wife". This Czech-German businessman decided that he would get to the point. This is recorded by some as the shortest will ever written.

And Karl Marx, the founder of Communism, who in life opposed the accumulation of vast personal fortunes? He was true to his word in death as in life, leaving a little over $400.

Though most people are aware that they need a will, as many as 66% of Americans, according to Consumer Reports, don't have one. Among the notables who died without either a valid will or no will at all are President Abraham Lincoln, President Andrew Johnson, President Ulysses S. Grant, President James A. Garfield, Howard Hughes, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rocky Marciano, Tupac Shakur, Kurt Cobain, Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley), Lenny Bruce (Leonard Alfred Schneider), Billie Holiday, Marvin Gaye (Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr.), Sam Cooke, Cass Elliot (Mamas & the Papas), Sonny Bono (Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono), Tiny Tim (Herbert Khaury), Karl Marx (Karl Heinrich Marx), and Pablo Picasso (Pablo Diego Jos? Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Mar?a de los Remedios Cipriano de la Sant?sima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso).