Imagine for a moment that you were the last living descendant of a deceased billionaire, and that your death gave you access to a fortune you could not spend in ten lifetimes. This feeling was most likely felt by one person whose relationship connected him to one of the most joyful fortunes of his time. This person also knew that a select group awaited his death with trepidation. This is the story of one of the strangest legacies in American history.

Golden egg. The news came in November 2010. On the last day of that month, scores of people would celebrate their new status in style. It had been 92 years since the “golden egg,” as its owner called his vast inheritance, was incubated in a trust fund in his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan.

Only then would the “egg” crack open and a fortune of no less than $110 million emerge, changing the lives of that small and select group that remained in the shadows. my last grandchild to die. So yes, one of the most complicated intrigues regarding inheritances would come to an end.

Mr. Burt. The hero of this whole story and its “golden egg” is none other than Wellington Burt. The man was one of the multimillionaires of his time, a lumber magnate from Michigan who amassed a fortune and became rich. But according to contemporaries, while brilliant in business, this man was equally ill-tempered and eccentric.

Burt died in 1919 at the age of 87, and by then he had one of the largest multimillion-dollar fortunes in the United States, which he was supposed to pass on to his grandchildren. Here is some information that gives us an idea of ​​the figure he had. At the time of his death, his wealth was estimated to be between $700 million and $1.58 billion in 2023 dollars.

This being the case, he was expected to generously support not only his immediate family and the various causes he championed, but also subsequent generations.

But as you can imagine, that was not the case at all.

A historical testament. No one knows exactly why; some say it was the result of grievances and fights against family members, others say he was simply a grumpy old man seeking revenge from beyond the grave. Regardless, Burt wrote one of the strangest wills that estate lawyers can remember.

The surprising decision: Her “golden egg,” as she called it, would remain in her “nest” for 21 years after the death of her last surviving grandchild.

His last grandchild. Which brings us back to 2010 and that November. Burt’s last surviving grandchild was Marion Lansill, and she died in November 1989, thus beginning the grim 21-year countdown that ends in 2010. As the month ended and the season opened, the trust fund began reviewing 30 applications from people who had come forward to share in the spoils.

After months of work and consideration by the judge, these 30 people were chosen as the lucky 12 who would share in the “golden egg,” estimated to be worth between $100 million and $110 million after interest. The beneficiaries, it turns out, were a disparate group spread between the East and West coasts of the United States (none of the 12 had ever met Burt; the oldest of the group was two years old when the businessman died).

Historical distribution. On the face of it, the amount they got was unfair. According to a formula agreed upon among family lawyers, those closest to Burt in the generation with the fewest siblings were given the most money. The largest individual profit was $16 million, the smallest $2.9 million. As for those who came before them and were cut off from Burt’s fortune, their legacy was essentially one of pain.

Burt’s six children, seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and 11 great-great-grandchildren never received a penny of the inheritance, either because they died while the “golden egg” was dormant or because they were deemed ineligible. Not only that. It was later revealed that Burt himself had made a small change, leaving his immediate children a meager allowance of only $1,000 a year, exactly the same amount he left to his cook, maid, and chauffeur.

Other wills. We’ve talked a lot about wills and inheritances over the years. There are all kinds of stories, from the trend of leaving multimillion-dollar inheritances to pets, to those who decide to give them away, to those who leave them to their gardeners, and even to those who give them up because they can’t afford the taxes they have to pay.

We’ve also said that inheritances are sometimes a source of inequality, we’ve answered the big question of lifetime donations, and we’ve even discussed what happens when an inheritance involves cryptocurrencies. These are certainly not trivial matters. The person who inherits has a treasure, but sometimes, as in Burt’s case, it’s neither.

Image | wbeem, Public domain

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