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Switzerland

Every case set in what is now Switzerland, best-known first. Cities, states and old kingdoms count under the country that holds them today.

EuropeEvery country

Cases in Switzerland

Best-known first. Each card opens the full cited case.

Cases
33
Years
1877 to 2025
Region
Europe
Main subjects
Literature and art, European families, Hollywood and TV, Fame and fortune
Families
Bonaparte family
Updated
30 October 2026
Charlie Chaplin: Charlie Chaplin portrait Getty 17394119521977 · Corsier-sur-Vevey, SwitzerlandTwo men stole Charlie Chaplin's coffin for ransom, and his widow refused to payCharlie Chaplin moved to Switzerland after the United States revoked his re-entry permit in 1952. He died at home in Corsier-sur-Vevey on Christmas Day 1977, aged 88. He left more than $100 million to his widow, Oona.history.co.uk and 3 moreAudrey Hepburn: AudreyKHepburn1993 · Tolochenaz, SwitzerlandAudrey Hepburn's two sons ended up on opposite sides of a lawsuit over who controls her imageAfter Audrey Hepburn died of abdominal cancer in January 1993, aged 63, her sons Sean Hepburn Ferrer and Luca Dotti and her partner Robert Wolders created a charity, Hollywood for Children, later called the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.nbclosangeles.com and 1 moreMichael Schumacher: Michael Schumacher, September 20052025 · Wuppertal, Germany (court); Gland, Switzerland (home)Michael Schumacher's family has kept his condition secret since 2013, and a former guard tried to sell his medical records for €15 millionMichael Schumacher suffered a head injury skiing in the French Alps in December 2013. Since then his wife, Corinna, has released almost no information about his health.bluewin.ch and 2 moreAnne Frank: Anne Frank passport photo, May 1942 (cropped)1945 · Bergen-Belsen; BaselThe Anne Frank Fonds named Otto Frank a co-author of the diary to extend its copyright past 2016Anne Frank died in the Bergen-Belsen camp in 1945. Her father, Otto, the family's only survivor, edited and published her diary. He set up the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel and left it his rights.jta.org and 3 moreErich Maria Remarque: Davos, Erich Maria Remarque1990 · SwitzerlandPaulette Goddard inherited Erich Maria Remarque's money, properties and art in 1970 and left New York University more than $20 million in 1990Erich Maria Remarque married Paulette Goddard in 1958 and died in 1970. She inherited much of his money, several properties across Europe and his art collection, and lived at his villa at Ronco sopra Ascona.findingaids.library.nyu.edu and 2 moreAristotle Onassis: Aristotle Onassis 1967cr1988 · Athens and Skorpios, Greece, and SwitzerlandAristotle Onassis's only granddaughter inherited half his fortune at 18, after her father and the trustees fought for yearsAristotle Onassis's son Alexander was killed in a plane crash in 1973. Onassis died two years later. His will named four trustees as executors. The Alexander S.UPI and 2 moreJames Joyce: Revolutionary Joyce Better Contrast1941 · ZurichJames Joyce's grandson destroyed his aunt Lucia's letters and threatened scholars until the copyrights ran out in 2012Stephen James Joyce, born in Paris in 1932, was James Joyce's grandson and his only living descendant. He and Seán Sweeney were the trustees of the Joyce estate.historynewsnetwork.org and 4 moreAga Khan III: Aga Khan III (5399571310)1957 · Versoix, near Geneva, SwitzerlandThe Aga Khan's will passed over his son Aly Khan and made his 20-year-old grandson imamAga Khan III led the Nizari Ismaili Muslims for 72 years and died at Versoix on 11 July 1957.theeastafrican.co.ke and 6 moreLouis, Prince Napoléon: Louis Bonaparte1997 · Prangins, Vaud, SwitzerlandLouis Napoléon's 1997 will passed over his son Charles and named his 11-year-old grandson head of the Bonaparte houseLouis, Prince Napoléon, was head of the Bonaparte house. His will was made public on 2 December 1997, the anniversary of Austerlitz.The Independent and 4 morePatricia Highsmith: Patricia-Highsmith-19621995 · Locarno, SwitzerlandPatricia Highsmith left her whole estate, over $3 million, to the Yaddo artists' colony, and her papers went to the Swiss Literary ArchivesHighsmith died in a hospital in Locarno in 1995 and left her entire estate to Yaddo, the artists' colony in Saratoga Springs, New York.helveticarchives.ch and 3 morePaul Klee: Paul Klee by Hugo Erfurth, 19221940 · Muralto, SwitzerlandPaul Klee's widow sold his estate for SFr120,000 two days before dying; his son sued the foundation that received it, and the case settled after four yearsPaul Klee died on 29 June 1940 before Bern completed his naturalisation. His widow, Lily, held his artistic estate. She fell seriously ill in September 1946.archive.zpk.org and 3 moreAI illustration: The rooftop test track of the Lingotto factory in Turin2003 · Turin, Italy; Marella's declared residence in SwitzerlaMargherita Agnelli sued her three children over her mother's estate, and Turin prosecutors charged her son John Elkann with tax fraudGianni Agnelli ran Fiat and died on 24 January 2003. Control of the family group sits in Dicembre, a holding company that controls Exor, which holds stakes in Stellantis and Ferrari.news.bgov.com and 6 moreJean-Claude Duvalier: Photo re-centrée de Jean-Claude Duvalier à partir du fichier Baby Doc.jpg2014 · Port-au-Prince, Haiti; SwitzerlandSwitzerland's top court ruled that Baby Doc's family could have his frozen millions hours before the Haiti earthquake, and parliament passed a law to stop itJean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier inherited power from his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, at 19 in 1971. A popular uprising ended their 28 years of rule in 1986, and he went into exile in France.swissinfo.ch and 3 moreRobert Walser: Robert Walser, in Zürich, around 1900.1956 · Herisau, SwitzerlandRobert Walser was found dead in the snow in 1956 after 23 years in an asylum, and his guardian Carl Seelig controlled the microscripts until 1962Robert Walser entered the Herisau asylum in 1933 under a diagnosis of schizophrenia. On 25 December 1956 children found his body in the snow on one of his long walks. He was 78.vqronline.org and 4 moreAI illustration: A closed account ledger on the counter of a Zurich bank, 19981943 · Credit Suisse, GenevaCredit Suisse demanded a death certificate for a banker killed at Majdanek; his daughter waited until 1998 for his accountJózef Sapir was a Jewish banker. Before the war he deposited family money with Credit Suisse in Geneva and named other Swiss banks to his daughter Estelle. She put the sum at $82,000 in 1940s value.jweekly.com and 6 moreNina Kandinsky: Portrait de Nina Kandinsky, Hugo Erfurth, 19241980 · Gstaad, SwitzerlandNina Kandinsky was strangled at her Gstaad chalet in 1980, about $2 million of her jewellery was stolen, and no one has been chargedWassily Kandinsky died in 1944. His widow Nina sold works to major museums and consigned a large group to the dealer Karl Nierendorf. In January 1980 she gave the Centre Pompidou all his works then in her possession.scene4.com and 1 moreInternational Maritime Organization London: Headquarters of the International Maritime Organization in London, United Kingdom.2016 · Zurich, SwitzerlandA Saudi billionaire took a diplomatic post to defeat his ex-wife's claim, lost, and died nine days before he had to pay £53 millionWalid Juffali was chairman and heir of E. A. Juffali and Brothers. He was married for 12 years to the model Christina Estrada, and they had a daughter.archive.news.stv.tv and 3 moreJorge Luis Borges: Jorge Luis Borges 1951, by Grete Stern (full)1986 · Geneva, SwitzerlandBorges left everything to the woman he married seven weeks before he died; she died without a willMaría Kodama became Jorge Luis Borges's literary secretary after his mother died in 1975. Borges left her his author's rights in a 1979 will and his whole estate in 1985.The New York Times and 3 moreVladimir Nabokov: Vladimir Nabokov 19731977 · Montreux, SwitzerlandNabokov told his wife to burn his last novel; it sat in a Swiss bank vault for 32 years before their son published itWhen Vladimir Nabokov died he was writing The Original of Laura, a novel drafted in pencil on 138 index cards. He asked that the manuscript be destroyed, and told his wife, Véra, to burn it. She did not.mg.co.za and 2 moreAlberto Giacometti: Title [Giacometti] PK-F-A.06801 Creator/other Andriesse, Emmy (1914-1953) Shelfmark PK-F-A.06801 Subject (topical) PortraitsMen (male humans)ArtistsSculptors Su1966 · Chur, SwitzerlandA forger sold about 1,300 fake Giacometti sculptures over ten years, German police seized more than 1,150 suspect works in 2009, and a Stuttgart court gave dealers two-year suspended sentencesAlberto Giacometti died in 1966 without children. His widow Annette set up the Giacometti Association in 1986 as a placeholder until the foundation named in his will could exist. She died in 1993.The Art Newspaper and 3 moreGustave Courbet: Gustave Courbet, photograph Atelier Nadar, c. 1860s1877 · La Tour-de-Peilz, SwitzerlandGustave Courbet was billed 323,000 francs to rebuild the Vendôme Column and died in Swiss exile in 1877Gustave Courbet proposed on 4 September 1870 that the Vendôme Column, topped by a statue of Napoleon, be taken down. The Paris Commune pulled it down on 16 May 1871. Courbet was arrested on 7 June 1871.bonjourparis.com and 2 moreAI illustration: The Klein Matterhorn glacier and cable car above Zermatt2021 · Klein Matterhorn, Zermatt, SwitzerlandTengelmann chief Karl-Erivan Haub vanished near the Matterhorn, and his brother bought out his widow and childrenKarl-Erivan Haub, born 1960 in Tacoma, Washington, ran the Tengelmann retail group from 2000 and co-owned it with his brothers Christian and Georg.orf.at and 7 moreThe Flag of Malta and the Flag of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta - Fort St. Angelo: The flag on the left is the Maltese National Flag, the flag on the right is the Flag of t2021 · Rome, Italy; Geneva, SwitzerlandThe Order of Malta's Grand Master fired his chancellor in 2016, the Pope forced the Grand Master out, and a 30-million-franc gift from a Geneva trust sat behind the fightIn December 2016 Grand Master Fra' Matthew Festing dismissed the Order's Grand Chancellor, Albrecht von Boeselager, after reports that the Order's charity had distributed condoms in Myanmar.NBC News and 2 moreHosni Mubarak: Hosni Mubarak - Official Photo (cropped)2020 · Cairo, Egypt; Bern, SwitzerlandSwitzerland froze 700 million francs tied to Mubarak's circle in 2011, and after 11 years released the last 400 million to its ownersHosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for three decades until the 2011 uprising.publiceye.ch and 3 moreMichael I of Romania: Mihai2017 · Aubonne, SwitzerlandRomania's King Michael was forced to sign a pre-typed abdication, and his grandson was later struck from the successionMichael I was king of Romania twice and led the 1944 coup that took Romania out of its alliance with Germany.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreCurt Engelhorn: Bust of Curt Engelhorn in Deutsches Museum2016 · Augsburg, Germany, and Gstaad, Bern, SwitzerlandCurt Engelhorn sold Boehringer Mannheim to Roche with no German tax paid, two of his daughters were arrested, and the family settled for €135 million to €145 millionCurt Engelhorn, a great-grandson of BASF founder Friedrich Engelhorn, ran Boehringer Mannheim from the late 1950s and moved its holding company, Corange, to Bermuda in the 1980s.bayern.landtag.de and 4 moreAI illustration: A long table in a rabbinical court room in Zurich, 19991999 · England (probate) and Zurich (arbitration)Rabbi Joseph Halpern's family settled his estate before a Beth Din in Zurich, then fought in London over whether Jewish law governed the dealRabbi Joseph Halpern died on 2 July 1999 and his wife Frieda on 6 August 2000. They had five sons and a daughter, Esther. Their 1989 wills named three sons, David, Mordechai and Jacob, as executors and trustees.The National Archives, Find Case Law and 3 moreAI illustration: Forchtenstein Castle on its rock in Burgenland, Austria1989 · Zurich, SwitzerlandPrince Paul Esterházy made his widow sole heir, and the Esterházy family lost Burgenland's largest estate to her foundationsIn 1946 Paul V Esterházy, one of central Europe's richest men, married Melinda Ottrubay, prima ballerina of the Budapest Opera.kurier.at and 5 moreAI illustration: A sealed case of royal jewels on a shelf in a Bank of Italy vault, Rome1983 · Geneva, SwitzerlandItaly's crown jewels have sat in a Bank of Italy vault since 1946, and a Rome court ruled in 2025 they belong to the stateUmberto II reigned for 34 days in 1946 before Italians voted for a republic.wantedinrome.com and 2 moreAI illustration: Opened and emptied safe-deposit boxes in a Budapest bank vault, 19451958 · Lausanne, SwitzerlandBaron Ferenc Hatvany came out of hiding in 1945 to find his Budapest bank vaults emptied, and a British panel recommended a looted Constable be returned to his heirsFerenc Hatvany, born in Budapest in 1881, built a collection of French and Hungarian paintings. After Allied bombing began in 1942 he put most of it in Budapest bank vaults.assets.publishing.service.gov.uk and 4 moreAlfred Józef Potocki: Alfred Józef Potocki foto (cropped)1958 · GenevaCount Alfred Potocki shipped about 700 crates from Łańcut to Vienna before the Red Army arrived, and the castle became a state museumAlfred Antoni Potocki (1886-1958) was the last ordynat of Łańcut, an entailed estate founded in 1830. During the German occupation, Wehrmacht generals lived in the castle.ipsb.nina.gov.pl and 5 moreFritz Hoffmann-La Roche: [Porträt von Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche]1920 · Basel, SwitzerlandRoche's founder lost control of his company in the 1919 crisis, and his heirs used a voting pool and a $20.7 billion buyback from Novartis to hold itFritz Hoffmann was born in Basel in 1868. In 1895 he married Adèle La Roche. On 2 November 1896 he and his father declared the founding of F. Hoffmann-La Roche & Co. Russia became its largest market.assets.roche.com and 3 moreAI illustration: A walled garden on an estate in the Valais, Switzerland · SwitzerlandHermès heir Nicolas Puech planned to adopt his gardener, then said his $15 billion in shares was goneNicolas Puech is a fifth-generation descendant of Hermès founder Thierry Hermès. He left the supervisory board in 2014 and was believed to hold more than 5 percent of the company. Forbes ranked him with $15.6 billion in March 2024.The Guardian and 3 more