Richest Cat: Italian Feline Tommaso sets world record (Video)
ROME, Italy -- When Italian real estate magnate Maria Assunta died at age 94, she left €10 million, or $13.5 million, to her cat Tommaso, also known as Tommasino - who now sets new world record for the Richest Cat, according to World Record Academy (www.worldrecordacademy.com). Photo: World's Richest Cat, Tommaso, inherits $13 million from owner.
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The Guinness world record for the most Wealthiest cat was set by Blackie, the last surviving of the 15 cats Ben Rea (UK) shared his mansion with. He bequeathed his £7-million ($12.5-million) fortune to Blackie, the last surviving of the 15 cats he shared his mansion with.
Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the most expesnive cat, set by a Californian Spangled Cat who was bought for $24,000 (£15,925).
Tommaso,The World's Richest Cat, who goes by his pet name 'Tommasino', was left some 10 million euro by his owner Assunta after her death. He also inherited a manor in an elegant suburb on the outskirts of Rome, two apartments in Rome and Milan, various current accounts and a piece of land in Calabria, in the South of Italy.
According to the U.K.'s Guardian, Assunta signed a handwritten will in 2009 directing her lawyers to find "the animal welfare body or association to which to leave the inheritance and the task of looking after the cat Tommaso."
Animals are not considered valid heirs under Italian law, so Tommaso was to be a beneficiary through a trustee, and in Tommaso's case, that turned out to be a nurse named Stefania, who met Assunta at a local park.
According to Stefania, Assunta was unassuming about her coffers. She said, "I had no idea the signora had such wealth."
"The old lady suffered from loneliness," Stefania said. "She looked after that cat more than you'd look after a son.
"I promised her that I would look after the cat when she was no longer around. She wanted to be sure that Tommaso would be loved and cuddled. But I never imagined that she had this sort of wealth," she said.
Tommaso and Stefania, who takes care of a second cat, are living outside Rome at an undisclosed address.
No information was available on how Tommasino plans to spend his money. He has been rather reluctant to show himself in his neighbourhood.
