Black Cat Inherits Millions

Tommaso Poses for the Camera

Tommaso, aka Tommasino, has defied conventional wisdom about black cats bringing bad luck.  As a kitten, he escaped the scourges of life as a stray when Maria Assunta rescued him from the streets of Rome. Assunta gave him a comfortable home and something else no one knew about until now. Four after Assunta found him, Tommaso inherited $13 million dollars from her estate when she died last month.  Her portfolio comprises mainly various properties in Italy, so this lucky cat has his choice of posh residences to call home.

Assunta, the widow of a successful builder, never had children.  Her deep love of animals led her to write a will in October 2009, naming the cat as the sole beneficiary of the estate under a trustee.   She charged her attorneys with finding “the animal welfare body or association to which to leave the inheritance and the task of looking after the cat Tommaso,” according to the Guardian.  Assunta didn't approve of any that her lawyers found, so she arranged for her nurse Stefania to act as trustee for Tommaso.  Italian law prevents animals from receiving a direct inheritance.

Stefania told the Daily Telegraph, "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 was very discreet and quiet. I knew very little of her private life. She only told me that she had suffered from loneliness a lot."

The two women met in a park and shared a fondness for animals.  When Assunta grew frail, Stefania devoted herself to nursing the old woman and taking care of Tommaso. The lawyers agree that she will act in the cat's best interest.

Tommaso now reigns as the world's richest cat and will never have to wonder where he'll find his next meal.  Ham and Wry predicts that Italian felines will be lining up at his door for hand-outs, now that he has made world headlines.