12 famous wills with some very unusual requests

Surprising and explosive legacies

Most wills are pretty straightforward – but some people aren't content with simply leaving their money to their nearest and dearest when they die.

From Harry Houdini to a comedian who made a romantic gesture from beyond the grave, click or scroll on to discover some shocking and surprising legacies.

All dollar values in US dollars

Lars Emil Bruun

Danish magnate Lars Emil Bruun (pictured) made his fortune by establishing a butter packaging and wholesaling company in 1883. The entrepreneur had always enjoyed collecting coins and, over the course of six decades, amassed a huge assortment of coins, banknotes, and medals.

By the time he died in 1923, he had one of the most impressive collections in the world – and when it came to bequeathing it, his will included a strange request...

Lars Emil Bruun

Bruun requested that his treasures be held as an emergency reserve for Denmark's national collection in case anything ever happened to it. After 100 years, if the national collection was safe and sound, Bruun's own collection – which numbers around 20,000 pieces and was insured for the equivalent of around $72.5 million (£55m) – could be sold to benefit his descendants.

In keeping with his wishes, the coins were held for just over a century before the first set went up for auction in Copenhagen in 2024, selling for 14.82 million euros ($17m/$12.6m). Additional sets are expected to be sold in the coming years.

Karl Lagerfeld

When renowned fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld passed away in 2019, he left behind a fortune of $200 million (around $255m/£192m in today's money).

One year earlier, the creative director of Chanel and Fendi had spoken about his will in an interview with French magazine Numero – and claimed he'd chosen a surprising heir to his estate. 

Karl Lagerfeld

According to Lagerfeld, his beloved Birman cat Choupette would receive a share of his considerable fortune. The pampered pet – who had maids, regular photoshoots, and hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram – featured large in Lagerfeld's life, so it's unsurprising that he wanted to make sure she was well cared for after his death.

She wasn't her "daddy's" sole heir though, with Lagerfeld insisting: "Don't worry, there is enough for everyone." 

Fred Baur

Chemist and food storage expert Fred Baur (pictured) was quite the inventor during his long career at Procter & Gamble, patenting all sorts of handy innovations from special cooking oils to freeze-dried ice cream.

But Baur is best-remembered for designing an iconic piece of packaging: the Pringles tube.

Fred Baur

Baur was so proud of his invention that he added a wacky request to his will, asking for his ashes to be buried in a Pringles tube.

Baur's family did their best to uphold his wishes and, following his death in 2008, some of his remains were placed in a Pringles tube and buried at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Cincinnati.

Leona Helmsley

The last will and testament of real estate tycoon Leona Helmsley, New York City's notorious 'Queen of Mean', who died in August 2007, went some way to redeeming her rotten reputation.

After all, she did leave the bulk of her $8 billion ($12.6bn/£9.5bn today) estate to the family charitable trust, which funds numerous health, education, and conservation projects. Like Lagerfeld, however, Helmsley also left a portion of her fortune to a four-legged friend... 

Leona Helmsley

Not renowned for her love of the human race, Helmsley left her beloved pooch Trouble a $12 million trust fund – which was later reduced to $2 million ($3.1m/£2.3m today) – yet bequeathed two of her grandchildren nothing.

She even requested that the billions of dollars earmarked for the charitable trust be used to benefit dogs, not people.

Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Camara

Eccentric Portuguese aristocrat Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Camara made 70 strangers very happy upon his death in 2007.

With no children to inherit his estate, the moneyed gentleman of leisure decided to leave everything to 70 random people plucked out of a Lisbon phone book.

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Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Camara

The names were selected in front of two witnesses when the will was drawn up back in 1994.

Unsurprisingly, when solicitors contacted the beneficiaries to let them know about their share of the estate, which included a luxury 12-room apartment in Lisbon, a huge country house, and tens of thousands of euros, some of the lucky recipients thought they were being scammed.

Jack Benny

Popular 20th-century American comedian Jack Benny reportedly had a rocky marriage and he and his wife of 47 years were known for their constant bickering and passionate fights.

Nevertheless, they totally adored each other. So when Benny died on 26 December 1974, his wife Mary was emotionally bereft. 

Jack Benny

Not long before he died, Benny altered his will to include instructions for one of the most romantic gestures ever. He left a sizeable sum of money to a local florist who was to send Benny's wife a single red rose every single day for the rest of her life.

Mary outlived her husband by just over eight years and received more than 3,000 roses during this time.

Janis Joplin

Singer Janis Joplin died tragically on 4 October 1970. Just two days before her death, the ill-fated singing legend amended her will, allocating a generous $2,500 – almost $21,000 (£16k) in today's money – for a booze-fuelled party “so my friends can have a ball after I've gone” in true Joplin style.

Janis Joplin

Invites were duly sent out, reading "Drinks are on Pearl", and the bash went ahead three weeks after Joplin's death at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California, the singer's favourite club and drinking den.

An estimated 200 of her closest pals attended.

Marilyn Monroe

The original blonde bombshell left all her belongings, including furnishings, clothes, and jewellery to her acting coach and mentor Lee Strasberg.

In her will, Monroe stipulated that she wanted her personal effects to be shared among her friends, colleagues, “and those to whom I am devoted” after her tragic death in 1962. 

Marilyn Monroe

Instead, Strasberg hoarded his treasure trove of memorabilia and watched it surge in value until his death in 1982. The estate then passed to Strasberg's third wife Anna, who made a cool $13.4 million from a Christie's sale in 1999.

The lots included the famous JFK Happy Birthday gown, which went for $1 million, and Monroe's baby grand piano, which was snapped up by singer Mariah Carey for $600,000.

“Dr. Meszaros”

According to an amazing story in the American newspaper the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, struggling actress Corin Ward became rich overnight when she received the fortune of "Dr. Meszaros" in 1930. 

Ward, who was from Vienna, Austria, had never even heard of her benefactor. But thanks to his generosity, she was suddenly $50,000 richer. That's the equivalent of almost $978,000 (£735k) in today's money. 

“Dr. Meszaros”

It's thought that Dr. Meszaros might have fallen in love with Ward after watching her perform. Because he didn't have a wife or children, he chose to bequeath his entire estate to the actress.

"The story of how the aged Dr. Meszaros came to make a will in the actress' favor is a romantic one," the report reads. "It appears that he was a highly successful physician, but that he led a lonely life [and] never plucked up courage to speak to the woman he most admired in the world."

Harry Houdini

Ever the showman, escape artist extraordinaire and accomplished magician Harry Houdini died on Halloween 1926, leaving behind a suitably supernatural instruction in his will.

Houdini was fascinated by the paranormal and was convinced he could contact his wife Beatrice from beyond the grave.

Harry Houdini

Houdini's will contained a special request instructing his wife to conduct a yearly séance. The magic pioneer included an esoteric 10-digit code his spirit would use, so Beatrice (pictured with him here) would know it was really him.

Mrs Houdini carried out her late husband's wishes, hosting séances once a year for 10 years after his death. Sadly, he never showed up.

Charles Vance Millar

When the Canadian lawyer Charles Vance Millar passed away in 1926, he left behind an extraordinary legacy. In fact, his will was jam-packed with unusual bequests, including a holiday home in Jamaica, which he left to three lawyers known to despise each other.

The most jaw-dropping of his stipulations, however, was that his fortune of $600,000 (the equivalent of $11.1m/£8.3m in today's money) should go to the family that had the most children over the next 10 years. 

Charles Vance Millar

Some people believe that Millar, a known supporter of birth control (and clear prankster), intended the bequest to be taken as a form of social commentary. Whatever his motives, his will sparked the so-called "Great Stork Derby" in Toronto as families battled it out to birth the most kids.

Eventually, four women who had each given birth to nine children within the decade – Lucy Timleck, Kathleen Nagle, Annie Smith, and Isabel MacLean – received $125,000 apiece, the equivalent of around $2.3 million (£1.7m) today.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare amassed a not-too-shabby fortune during his glittering career. By the time of his death in April 1616, the Bard was a very rich man.

Shakespeare's will was drawn up a month before his death and provided generously for his children and other family members. His wife, Anne Hathaway, was not so lucky.

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare left his spouse his “second-best” bed and not much else. It's worth pointing out, however, that beds were particularly prized and valuable during this period of history.

And, in any case, Anne Hathaway would have been entitled to a third of her husband's estate, according to the law in England at the time.

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Now meet the rich and famous who didn't leave their fortunes to their kids