List of wealthiest animals

The list of wealthiest animals in the world include animals that have inherited or earned over 1 million U.S. dollars.

Tardar Sauce, better known as "Grumpy Cat"

Through inheritance

Non-human animals are not legal persons and cannot directly own property. Pets typically "inherit" money through a pet trust through which the money must be used for their care after the death of the owner.[1]

Taylor Swift's cat has an estimated worth of at least $97 million.

  • Gigoo ($15M)

A Scots Dumpy hen willed $15 million. She was owned by Miles Blackwell, a publisher of textbooks.[2]

  • Tommaso ($13M)

A black cat who lives in Italy and inherited $13 million. The cat was a stray that found its way into the home of Maria Assunta, a property magnate in Italy. When Assunta died at the age of 94, she willed her fortune to either the cat or an animal welfare charity that would look after it. It was decided after no suitable charity could be found that the money would be given to the cat, held in trust by Assunta's nurse.[3]

  • Blackie ($12.5M)

Considered the richest cat by Guinness World Records until 2018, inherited a $12.5 million fortune.[4]

  • Conchita ($11.3M)

A Chihuahua, was bequeathed $3 million plus an $8.3 million mansion in Miami by heiress Gail Posner.[5]

  • Trouble ($2M)

A dog that was owned by Leona Helmsley, to which she bequeathed $12 million in a will that disinherited her two grandchildren. A judge later amended the amount down to $2M.

  • Flossie ($1.3M)

A dog owned by Drew Barrymore, barked to alert her and then-husband Tom Green of a fire. She put her $1.3 million house in trust for the dog to show her gratitude.[6]

  • Tinker ($1.2M)

A stray cat that was bequeathed an $800,000 home and a $226,000 trust fund.[6]

The cat companion of fashion magnate Karl Lagerfeld, and it is rumored that she was left at least part of Lagerfeld's US$200 million fortune after his death in 2019.[7][8]

  • Lulu ($5M)

An 8-year-old Border Collie, inherited $5 million in her owner's will.[9]

  • Tardar Sauce ($1M)

Better known as Grumpy Cat, Tardar Sauce had an estimated worth of at least $1 million.[10][11]

Hoaxes
  • Reportedly, Toby Rimes, a poodle, inherited $20 million from New Yorker Ella Wendel in 1931.[12][13] In fact, it seems that no such bequest was made.[14]
  • In 2021, the Associated Press and several other news organizations reported that a German Shepherd dog named Gunther VI inherited $400 million dollars from Countess Karlotta Leibenstein of Germany. The day after the Associated Press article, the New York Post published an article disputing the validity of the claim.[15] The Associated Press later removed the article from its website and published a new article admitting the story was a fabrication.[16] The story of Gunter was featured in the 2023 Netflix documentary series Gunther's Millions.[17]

See also

References
  1. Fox, Emily Jane (9 September 2015). "What Happens When Someone Leaves Millions to a Pet?". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  2. "World's Richest Chicken - Millionaire Hen". 13 April 2016. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  3. "Tommaso, the Italian cat, inherits $13 million from owner Maria Assunta | Public Radio International". Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  4. "Wealthiest cat | Guinness World Records". Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  5. Perone, Tim (17 June 2010). "Heiress' big $$ goes to the dogs". New York Post. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  6. "Pets that inherited a fortune". MNN - Mother Nature Network. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  7. "Karl Lagerfeld's cat could be his heir". BBC News. 21 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  8. Thomas, Dana (21 January 2020). "What Happened to Choupette?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. Beres, Nick (11 February 2021). "8-year-old border collie named Lulu inherits $5 million in owner's will". NewsChannel5. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. Tuttle, Brad (October 5, 2015). "The 10 Richest Pets of All Time". Money.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  11. "10 of the Richest Pets in History". mentalfloss.com. 5 November 2018. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  12. Tim Parker. "These Are Some Of The Richest Pets In The World". Business Insider Australia. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  13. "The world's top 4 richest pets". Yahoo! Finance. 6 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  14. Mervin Rosenman (1984). Forgery, Perjury and an Enormous Fortune.
  15. Gould, Jennifer (November 18, 2021). "No, stupid: A dog isn't really selling Madonna's former Florida mansion". New York Post. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  16. Spencer, Terry (Nov 23, 2021). "Story about dog 'selling' mansion part of long-running tale". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  17. Goffe, Nadira (February 1, 2023). "The Biggest Lie in Netflix's Hit New Docuseries". Slate. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
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