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European families

Aristocratic, banking and industrial families of Europe: titles, entailed land, castles, company shares and the lawsuits over them.

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What do the european families estate cases show?

A will that gives a child half of a family company hands control to whoever runs it until the child comes of age. A sole trustee over a fortune that a whole family depends on invites lawsuits from the branches left out of control.

Stories
89
Years
1343 to 2025
Main regions
Europe, North America, Latin America
Legal traditions
Civil law, Common law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in european families, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

AI illustration: The front steps and iron gate of Casa Casuarina on Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, 19971997 · Casa Casuarina, Miami Beach, FloridaGianni Versace was shot dead in Miami and left half his fashion house to his 11-year-old nieceOn 15 July 1997 Andrew Cunanan shot Gianni Versace outside his Miami Beach mansion. Cunanan killed himself on a houseboat eight days later. Versace's will left his 50 percent of Gianni Versace S.p.A.sec.gov and 5 moreJ. Paul Getty: JP Getty 1944 (cropped) (2)1976 · Sutton Place, Surrey, EnglandJ. Paul Getty paid part of his kidnapped grandson's ransom and lent the rest to his son at 4% interestGetty ran Getty Oil from Sutton Place in Surrey. On 10 July 1973 his grandson John Paul Getty III, 16, was seized in Piazza Farnese, Rome, and held in Calabria. The kidnappers asked $17 million.Il Post and 7 moreAI illustration: Fire engines below a burning penthouse in Monaco, December 19991999 · MonacoBanker Edmond Safra died in a fire his nurse set in Monaco while his bank was being sold to HSBCEdmond Safra built Republic National Bank of New York. In May 1999 HSBC agreed to buy his banking group for $10.3 billion in cash. Safra was 67 and had Parkinson's disease.CBS News and 8 moreMaurizio Gucci: Maurizio Gucci matrimonio1995 · Via Palestro 20, MilanMaurizio Gucci was shot dead in Milan in 1995 on the order of his ex-wife Patrizia ReggianiIn 1982 Paolo Gucci fell out with his father Aldo and sued him and the company over control of the firm. The suit exposed a tax scheme.UPI and 12 moreBlenheim Palace, where the story took place2014 · Woodstock, OxfordshireThe 11th Duke of Marlborough went to court in 1994 so his drug-addicted heir would never control Blenheim PalaceJohn Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, owned Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. His heir was his eldest surviving son, Jamie, Marquess of Blandford, born in 1955. Jamie's drug addiction was public.The Guardian and 7 moreAI illustration: Lower Belgrave Street, London, at night, November 19741974 · Last seen at Uckfield, East SussexLord Lucan vanished the night his children's nanny was killed in 1974, and the High Court declared him dead in 2016John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, inherited a reputed £250,000 in 1964 and drew about £12,000 a year from family trusts. He lost an estimated £20,000 fighting his wife Veronica for custody of their children.legislation.gov.uk and 5 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 moreFelix Yusupov: Prince Felix Yusupov1967 · ParisPrince Felix Yusupov sold two Rembrandts to Joseph Widener with a buy-back option, raised the money, and lost them in courtFelix Yusupov became heir in 1908 to one of the largest fortunes in Russia. In December 1916 he and others killed Grigori Rasputin in the family's Moika Palace in Petrograd.Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School and 5 moreAI illustration: Furniture and paintings laid out for auction inside Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire, 19771974 · Mentmore Towers, BuckinghamshireThe government refused Mentmore for £2 million, and Sotheby's sold its contents for more than £6 million in 1977Mentmore Towers was built in the 1850s for Baron Mayer de Rothschild and passed to the Earls of Rosebery by marriage. Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery, bred the Derby winner Blue Peter at its stud.Internet Archive and 8 moreKilkenny Castle, where the story took place1997 · Chicago, IllinoisThe Butlers sold Kilkenny Castle to the town for £50 in 1967, and the Ormonde earldoms went dormant in 1997The Butlers, Earls and later Marquesses of Ormonde, kept a collection of about 500 paintings at Kilkenny Castle, the largest in Ireland.kilkennycastle.ie and 5 moreTombe d'Eugène Schueller, de Liliane Bettencourt et d'André Bettencourt 52017 · Neuilly-sur-Seine, FranceLiliane Bettencourt gave a photographer about €1 billion, and her daughter's complaint ended in his convictionLiliane Bettencourt inherited L'Oréal from her father in 1957. Over two decades she gave the photographer François-Marie Banier gifts reported at nearly €1 billion.abcnews.com and 8 moreMap of Italy, marked on the globe1984 · RomeLord Brooke sold Warwick Castle to Madame Tussauds for £1.3 million in 1978, ending 374 years of Greville ownershipCharles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, was the first British aristocrat offered a Hollywood contract. MGM signed him in 1936 as Michael Brooke and dropped him after six months. His one mainstream film was The Dawn Patrol in 1938.The New York Times and 7 moreAI illustration: The Volkswagen factory at Wolfsburg with its four brick chimneys2019 · Rosenheim, Germany, after collapsing at a restaurant in AschPorsche tried to buy Volkswagen and ended up owned by it, and Ferdinand Piëch was later forced out of VWFerdinand Piëch, born in Vienna in 1937, was a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche. The Porsche and Piëch families own the Porsche holding company. Piëch ran Volkswagen from 1993 to 2002 and then chaired its supervisory board.porsche-se.com and 8 moreAI illustration: The courtyard of the Palacio de las Dueñas, Seville2014 · Palacio de las Dueñas, SevilleThe Duchess of Alba gave her estate to her six children before marrying a civil servant 24 years youngerCayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba, held more than 40 titles and was listed by Guinness World Records as the most titled person alive. Her fortune was estimated in 2011 at €600 million to €3.5 billion.archive.boston.com and 6 moreLeonardo Del Vecchio: Leonardo Del Vecchio giovane2022 · San Raffaele Hospital, MilanLeonardo Del Vecchio split his holding company into eight equal shares, and his heirs are suing in Milan and LuxembourgLeonardo Del Vecchio grew up in an orphanage and founded Luxottica in Agordo in 1961. He died on 27 June 2022, aged 87. He held his empire through Delfin, a Luxembourg holding.tg24.sky.it and 8 moreAI illustration: Shoppers outside a grocery shop on an Essen street, early 1970s2012 · Essen, GermanyAldi's Theo Albrecht was ransomed for 7 million marks, and his son's widow fought the family foundation for a decadeOn 29 November 1971 the lawyer Heinz-Joachim Ollenburg and the safe-cracker Paul Kron kidnapped Aldi Nord founder Theo Albrecht outside the company offices in Herten. He was held 17 days.iww.de and 7 moreCalouste Gulbenkian: Calouste Gulbenkian photo1955 · Aviz Hotel, LisbonCalouste Gulbenkian left his oil fortune to a Lisbon foundation and his son Nubar about $2.5 millionCalouste Gulbenkian held shares in the Turkish Petroleum Company from 1912. The Red Line Agreement of 31 July 1928 confirmed his 5 percent of the company, renamed Iraq Petroleum in 1929. The stake made him "Mr Five Per Cent".Time and 6 moreAI illustration: An empty, broken-open mausoleum by the Wörthersee in Carinthia, 20082006 · Auen, Wörthersee, Carinthia, AustriaThieves stole the coffin of Friedrich Karl Flick, heir to a Nazi-era fortune, from his Austrian mausoleumFriedrich Flick's companies used an estimated 48,000 forced labourers in the Second World War.sueddeutsche.de and 6 moreWoburn Abbey, where the story took place1953 · Endsleigh estate, DevonThe 12th Duke of Bedford was found shot in 1953, and the son he had cut off opened Woburn Abbey to paying visitors to meet a £4.5 million tax debtHerbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford, did not speak to his son Hastings for 20 years. The two still worked on plans to shield the Bedford fortune from British tax.bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk and 7 moreThyssen-Bornemisza Museum: Site of the Retiro and the Prado in Madrid 49 (29684554308)2002 · Sant Feliu de Guíxols, SpainBaron Thyssen-Bornemisza sued over his family's Bermuda trust and sold his collection to Spain for $350 millionBaron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza inherited the TBG business group and an Old Master collection from his father in 1947. He married five times and had four children.Forbes and 7 moreBrocket Hall, where the story took place2025 · Brocket Hall, HertfordshireLord Brocket was jailed for five years for insurance fraud in 1996, and his trustees leased out Brocket HallCharles Nall-Cain became 3rd Baron Brocket in 1967, at 15, while at Eton, and inherited Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire from his grandfather.brocket-hall.co.uk and 5 moreAlfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach: Alfried Felix Alwyn Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach1967 · Essen, West GermanyAlfried Krupp was convicted at Nuremberg, got his property back in 1951, and left the firm to a foundation instead of his sonAlfried Krupp became sole owner of the Essen arms maker in 1943. On 1 January 1943 the firm employed about 25,000 prisoners of war, foreign civilians and forced labourers; historians put the wartime total at 100,000 or more.krupp-stiftung.de and 6 moreLobkowicz family: Lobkowitz-fuerstliches-Wappen1967 · Dover, MassachusettsThe Lobkowicz family lost its castles to the Nazis in 1939 and the Communists in 1948, and a grandson spent 12 years recovering the Prague palaceMax Lobkowicz, born at Bílina in 1888, headed the Roudnice line of the family. He left for London before the German occupation of 15 March 1939 and from June 1942 was ambassador of the Czechoslovak government in exile to Britain.zakonyprolidi.cz and 9 moreAI illustration: Opencast coal mining dug up to the lawns of Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire, 19471948 · Saint-Bauzile, Ardèche, FranceThe government ordered opencast mining up to Wentworth Woodhouse, and the Fitzwilliam earldom ended in 1979Wentworth Woodhouse in South Yorkshire has more than 300 rooms and an east front of 618 feet, the longest of any English country house. The Earls Fitzwilliam owned it and the coal under it.wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk and 6 moreAI illustration: A bedsit room in Pimlico, London, 19761976 · London (Pimlico)The 7th Duke of Leinster sold his future inheritance to a moneylender and died in a London bedsitLord Edward FitzGerald was the third son of the 5th Duke of Leinster, Ireland's senior peer. He was not expected to inherit.Internet Archive and 5 moreAI illustration: Italian state officials list the Borghese paintings in the Casino Borghese, Rome, 19021920 · VenicePrince Paolo Borghese lost the family fortune in the Rome building crash, and the state bought the Borghese collection for 3.6 million lirePaolo Borghese was born in Rome on 13 September 1844. He headed a family whose art collection, begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the 17th century, was held under a fideicommissum that barred its sale.Treccani and 5 moreAI illustration: The Croisette at Cannes at night, 20042004 · Cannes, FranceThe 10th Earl of Shaftesbury was strangled by his wife's brother in Cannes, and his heir died six months laterAnthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury, owned more than 9,000 acres in Dorset, the family seat of St Giles House and the bed of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.france24.com and 4 moreAI illustration: The rotunda of Ickworth House, Suffolk1999 · Little Horringer Hall, Ickworth estate, SuffolkThe 7th Marquess of Bristol spent a fortune of up to £35 million on drugs and died at 44 after selling the Ickworth leaseJohn Hervey was born at Ickworth House in Suffolk in 1954, the only child of the 6th Marquess of Bristol.nationaltrust.org.uk and 5 moreFreddy Heineken: Persconferentie jaarcijfers Heineken voorzitter RvB A. H. Heineken (kop), Bestanddeelnr 933-28952002 · NoordwijkFreddy Heineken was kidnapped for 35 million guilders, and his only daughter inherited control of the breweryFreddy Heineken joined his grandfather's brewery in 1941, when the family no longer controlled it.digibron.nl and 8 moreIvar Kreuger: Kreuger ca19201932 · ParisIvar Kreuger shot himself in Paris in 1932, and auditors found his match empire rested on forged Italian bondsIvar Kreuger, born in Kalmar in 1880, controlled most of the world's match production through Svenska Tändsticks AB and his holding company, Kreuger & Toll.fortune.com and 5 moreAI illustration: A white stucco townhouse on Cadogan Place, Belgravia, London, 20122012 · Cadogan Place, Belgravia, LondonA Tetra Pak heir kept his wife's body in their London house for two monthsRuben Rausing founded Tetra Pak in Sweden. His sons Gad and Hans ran it together. Hans moved to Britain in 1982 to avoid Swedish tax. In 1995 Hans sold his half to Gad for an estimated $7 billion. Gad died on 28 January 2000.Forbes and 7 moreMike Florio: Mike Florio 20141957 · PalermoThe Florio family built Sicily's largest business group and lost all of it to the banks and the state by 1935Paolo Florio left Calabria for Palermo in 1799 and opened a spice shop. His son Vincenzo founded a Marsala winery in the 1830s and a steamship line in 1861. When Vincenzo died in 1868 his estate was worth over 12 million lire.rivistameridiana.it and 5 moreTomáš Baťa: Tomas Bata1932 · Otrokovice, near Zlín, CzechoslovakiaTomáš Baťa died in a plane crash, his half-brother took the shoe company, and the family litigated for 15 yearsTomáš Baťa died on 12 July 1932 when his Junkers F 13 crashed in fog near Zlín airport, on a business flight to Switzerland. That day his office safe was opened.zpravy.aktualne.cz and 8 moreAdam Karol Czartoryski: Adam karol czartoryski2016 · Kraków, PolandPrince Adam Karol Czartoryski sold his family's collection to Poland for €100 million, the money went to Liechtenstein, and he sued his daughterThe Czartoryski collection began with Princess Izabela Czartoryska's museum at Puławy, housed in the Temple of Memory, built from 1798 to 1801.nik.gov.pl and 4 moreRussborough House: Russborough-House Part-of-the-facade1994 · DublinRussborough House was robbed four times from 1974 to 2002, and Sir Alfred Beit gave his stolen Vermeer to Ireland before it was foundSir Alfred Beit, 2nd Baronet, inherited a fortune and an art collection from his father, Sir Otto Beit, in 1930. In 1952 he bought Russborough House, County Wicklow, to hold the paintings.rte.ie and 10 moreAI illustration: The harbour of Monaco at dusk, late 1970s1979 · The London Clinic, LondonCharles Clore moved to Monaco to avoid tax, and the Revenue proved after his death that he was still EnglishSir Charles Clore built Sears and the British Shoe Corporation and was worth almost £100 million. In 1976 he retired and moved to Monaco.uniset.ca and 5 moreAdolf Hitler: Hitler portrait crop (cropped)(2)1951 · Martínez, near Buenos AiresFritz Thyssen paid for Hitler's rise, lost his fortune to him in 1939, survived the camps and emigrated on his book royaltiesFritz Thyssen, son of the steel magnate August Thyssen, chaired the supervisory board of Vereinigte Stahlwerke until 1939. Postwar investigators found he had given 650,000 Reichsmarks to right-wing parties, mostly the Nazis.ifz-muenchen.de and 4 moreAI illustration: Police cars at night outside an apartment building on Via Puccini, Rome, 19701970 · Via Puccini 9, RomeMarquis Casati Stampa shot his wife, her lover and himself; his daughter inherited at 19 and sold Arcore to Berlusconi for unlisted sharesOn 30 August 1970 Marquis Camillo Casati Stampa di Soncino shot his wife, Anna Fallarino, and her lover, the student Massimo Minorenti, in their Rome flat, then shot himself.cinquantamila.it and 7 moreJacques Goudstikker: Jacques Goudstikker (1938)1940 · aboard the SS Bodegraven, English ChannelJacques Goudstikker died fleeing the Nazis, Göring took his paintings, and the Netherlands returned 202 of them in 2006Jacques Goudstikker was a Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam whose firm held more than 1,200 works. On 14 May 1940, as Germany invaded, he fled with his wife Dési and their son on the SS Bodegraven.cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov 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 moreAI illustration: A bank head office on the Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon, 20142020 · LisbonBanco Espírito Santo collapsed in 2014 and its chief Ricardo Salgado was sentenced to eight yearsJosé Maria do Espírito Santo e Silva began trading lottery tickets, currency and securities in Lisbon in 1869. His heirs built Banco Espírito Santo.observador.pt and 9 moreÉdouard Empain: Edouard Empain2018 · Pontoise, FranceBaron Empain was kidnapped in Paris in 1978, lost part of a finger, was held 63 days, and sold his stake in Empain-Schneider three years laterÉdouard-Jean Empain, born in Budapest in 1937, was the grandson of Édouard Empain, founder of the Belgian family's industrial group.Le Monde and 4 moreCaravaggio: Italian: Ritratto di bitto Portrait of Caravaggiotitle QS:P1476,it:"Ritratto di bitto "label QS:Lit,"Ritratto di bitto "2018 · RomeA Texas-born princess was evicted from the Roman villa with Caravaggio's only mural after six auctions drew no bidsThe Casino dell'Aurora is the last surviving building of Rome's Villa Ludovisi. Its ceiling holds Caravaggio's only known mural, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, and Guercino's Aurora.artribune.com and 6 moreAI illustration: A Milan supermarket at closing time, 20162016 · MilanEsselunga founder Bernardo Caprotti took back the shares he had given his children and left control to his second wife and daughterBernardo Caprotti founded Esselunga in Milan in 1957 with Nelson Rockefeller and built it into a chain of about 140 stores.ilfattoquotidiano.it and 5 moreGerald Grosvenor: The 6th Duke of Westminster2016 · Royal Preston Hospital, LancashireThe 6th Duke of Westminster's £9 billion estate passed in trust to his 25-year-old son over three daughtersThe Grosvenors got their London land when Sir Thomas Grosvenor married Mary Davies, a scrivener's daughter, in 1677. It became Mayfair and Belgravia.The Guardian and 7 moreAI illustration: A closed drugstore with empty shelves in a German town, 20122016 · Ehingen (Donau), GermanyAnton Schlecker's drugstore chain collapsed in 2012, and his son and daughter went to prison for taking 7 million euros out firstAnton Schlecker opened his first drugstore in 1975. By 2008 the chain had more than 15,000 stores in Europe and about 50,000 staff. He ran it as a registered sole trader, so he was personally liable for its debts.bundesgerichtshof.de and 2 moreJosé María Ruiz-Mateos: Jose María Ruiz-Mateos2015 · El Puerto de Santa María, CádizSpain seized José María Ruiz-Mateos's Rumasa group by decree in 1983, and his second group collapsed in 2011José María Ruiz-Mateos founded Rumasa in 1961 on a sherry supply deal with Harveys of Bristol. By 1983 it held about 700 companies, including banks, hotels and the Galerías Preciados stores, and employed about 60,000 people.europapress.es and 6 moreAI illustration: The palace of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia at Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain2008 · Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz, SpainThe Red Duchess of Medina Sidonia married her secretary on the day she died, and her children sued over the palace foundationLuisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia, was jailed in Alcalá de Henares in the 1960s for anti-Franco activity. In 1990 she created the Fundación Casa Medina Sidonia and gave it most of her estate.Boletín Oficial del Estado and 5 moreRudolf August Oetker: Rudolf August Oetker (cropped)2007 · HamburgRudolf-August Oetker's eight children from three marriages split the Dr. Oetker group in two in 2021Rudolf-August Oetker ran the Bielefeld baking-powder company from 1944 to 1981 and built it into a group of about 350 companies. He had joined the Waffen-SS in 1942.wiwo.de and 5 moreAI illustration: Cologne Cathedral above the old town and the Rhine2005 · CologneSal. Oppenheim survived the Nazis under another name, then lost its independence over loans to the Karstadt heiressSalomon Oppenheim Jr. founded the bank in Bonn in 1789 and moved it to Cologne in 1798. In January 1936, under Nazi party pressure, the Jewish partners Otto Kaufmann, Wilhelm Chan and Hermann Leubsdorff left.au.news.yahoo.com and 8 moreAntónio Champalimaud: Retrato de António Champalimaud, obra de 2015 de Júlio Pomar, gravada em coluna de betão na esplanada do Centro Champalimaud, em Lisboa2004 · LisbonPortugal vetoed António Champalimaud's bank deal with Santander until Brussels overruled it for the first timeAntónio Champalimaud built a cement, steel, banking and insurance group under Salazar. His family fought over money for decades.European Commission and 10 moreAI illustration: Yellow backhoe loaders lined up outside a Staffordshire factory2001 · LondonThe JCB founder's sons litigated in three countries over the company, then a cousin's £30 million fee claim failedJoseph Cyril Bamford founded JCB in 1945 and made his son Anthony chairman in 1975. He died on 1 March 2001. A dispute over his will followed and was settled in 2004; the court record does not name the parties.The National Archives, Find Case Law and 3 moreAI illustration: A meat-packing plant in the flat farmland of Westphalia, 1990s1994 · MünsterRobert Tönnies sued his uncle Clemens to take back a 5 percent gift in the family meat groupBernd Tönnies founded a meat trading business in Rheda in 1971. His brother Clemens joined him, and in 1982 Bernd gave Clemens 40 percent. Bernd died on 1 July 1994, aged 42, after a kidney transplant.afz.fleischwirtschaft.de and 8 moreCawdor Castle, where the story took place1993 · LondonThe 6th Earl Cawdor left Cawdor Castle to his second wife, and a court put his son's children out of itHugh Campbell, 6th Earl Cawdor and 24th Thane of Cawdor, died in London on 20 June 1993, aged 60. In 1979 he had divorced his first wife, Cathryn, after 22 years and married Countess Angelika Lazansky von Bukowa, born in Bohemia.The Independent and 5 moreAI illustration: Silver, porcelain and furniture laid out for auction in a palace hall at St. Emmeram, Regensburg, 1993, full-bleed picture with no border or page1990 · Klinikum Großhadern, MunichGloria von Thurn und Taxis auctioned the family treasures and handed 2,200 objects to Bavaria to settle her husband's estateThe Thurn und Taxis fortune came from the mail. Leonhard I von Taxis was Postmaster General of the Holy Roman Empire in 1595, and in 1615 the office became hereditary in the family.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de and 12 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: Whaling factory ships moored at Sandefjord, Norway, 1950s1982 · Sandefjord, NorwayWhaling magnate Anders Jahre denied owning a fortune abroad, and Norway spent 30 years after his death recovering about 1 billion kronerAnders Jahre founded his shipping company in 1922 and the Kosmos whaling companies from 1928. He funded about half of Sandefjord's city hall and two foundations at the University of Oslo.snl.no and 4 moreHilmar Reksten: HilmarReksten1980 · Bergen, NorwayNorway bought shipowner Hilmar Reksten's shares in 1975 while his fortune sat hidden abroad; his estate went bankrupt and his heir paid back 60 million kronerHilmar Reksten founded his shipping company in Bergen in 1929. In 1966 his son Rolf sued for his share of his dead mother's estate, won, and was pushed out of the family and the firm.snl.no and 3 moreAI illustration: A cotton textile mill in the Vosges, France, 1970s1980 · Dammarie-sur-Loing, LoiretMarcel Boussac, France's richest man in 1951 and Dior's backer, died ruined; his collapsed group became Bernard Arnault's startMarcel Boussac built France's largest cotton group from 1911. In 1951 he was ranked France's richest man, with more than 50 factories and 20,000 workers. In 1946 he financed Christian Dior's new couture house.tbheritage.com and 4 moreRaul Gardini1979 · Romagna, Italy (plane crash); Milan (Gardini)Raul Gardini ran his in-laws' Ferruzzi group, was voted out in 1991 and shot himself in 1993 as it collapsed with 31,000 billion lire of debtSerafino Ferruzzi founded a grain-trading firm in Ravenna in 1948. By 1976 he had put the shares in his four children's names: Arturo 31%, Idina, Franca and Alessandra 23% each.Treccani and 6 moreJanusz Radziwiłł (1612–1655): Portrait of Janusz Radziwiłł (1612–1655).1967 · WarsawPrince Janusz Radziwiłł lost about 43,700 hectares to Soviet and communist seizure, and his wife died in NKVD custodyJanusz Radziwiłł was born in Berlin in 1880 into one of the richest families of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was Polish foreign minister in 1920-1921 and later a senator.przystanekhistoria.pl and 6 moreAI illustration: Coffee beans pouring from a roaster in a Hamburg roastery, 20011965 · HamburgTchibo heir Günter Herz was forced out by his family in 2001 and sold out with his sister for an estimated $5 billionMax Herz founded Tchibo in Hamburg on 15 March 1949 with Carl Tchiling-Hiryan, who soon left. He died of a heart attack in 1965, aged 59.Forbes and 7 moreAI illustration: Power lines and a hydroelectric dam of the Catalan power network, 1950s1962 · MadridJuan March bought Barcelona Traction bonds, had the company declared bankrupt in Reus and took Catalonia's power networkBarcelona Traction, Light and Power was incorporated in Toronto in 1911. By 1936 its subsidiaries supplied most of Catalonia's electricity. Its sterling bonds were paid with money the Spanish subsidiaries sent abroad.legal.un.org and 4 moreAI illustration: A villa in Hamburg-Blankenese at night, 19961959 · HamburgCigarette heir Jan Philipp Reemtsma sold his inheritance and was kidnapped for a 30 million mark ransomPhilipp F. Reemtsma ran Germany's largest cigarette maker. In 1933 and 1934 he gave large sums to Nazi organisations to protect the firm. Göring shielded him in a 1934 tax case and in 1939 named him a war economy leader.deutsche-biographie.de and 8 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 moreAI illustration: Český Krumlov Castle, the Schwarzenberg seat taken by Czechoslovakia under a 1947 law1950 · Bordighera, ItalyCzechoslovakia passed a law to take one family's estate, and the Schwarzenberg heirs have lost every claim to it sinceAdolf Schwarzenberg owned the Hluboká estate in South Bohemia. He opposed the Nazis, and in 1940 they seized the family property. In 1945 the Beneš decrees were applied to it on the ground that he was ethnic German.hrlibrary.umn.edu and 6 moreAI illustration: The Hotel Metropole in Vienna under armed guard, 1938, where Louis de Rothschild was held1955 · Montego Bay, JamaicaThe Nazis held Louis de Rothschild hostage in Vienna in 1938 and released him for the family's assetsLouis de Rothschild ran the Vienna bank S M von Rothschild, the Creditanstalt and the family's Austrian industries, including the Vitkovice ironworks in Moravia.jta.org and 6 moreWilliam Vestey, 1st Baron Vestey: Baron Vestey LCCN20147182891940 · Gerrards Cross, BuckinghamshireThe Vestey meat brothers left Britain over income tax, set up a Paris trust and bought a peerageWilliam and Edmund Vestey of Liverpool built a chain from Argentine ranches through Blue Star refrigerated ships to 2,365 British butcher shops. Wartime income tax rose, and Lloyd George refused them an exemption.The Gazette and 7 moreLouis Renault (industrialist): Louis Renault en 19181944 · Paris clinic, after detention at Fresnes prisonLouis Renault died in custody before trial, and France took his company without paying his heirsLouis Renault ran the car company he had founded with his brothers.conseil-etat.fr and 6 moreFriedrich Gutmann: Friedrich Bernhard Eugen Gutmann met zoon Bernhard1944 · TheresienstadtBanker Fritz Gutmann was killed at Theresienstadt, and his heirs sued an American collector to get back his DegasFritz Gutmann was a son of Eugen Gutmann, co-founder of Dresdner Bank. He moved to the Netherlands after the First World War and became Dutch in 1924.Dutch Restitutions Committee and 6 moreFranz Koenigs1941 · Cologne railway stationFranz Koenigs lost his drawings to a bank five weeks before the German invasion; Hitler bought 528 and the Dutch state has refused his heirs four timesFranz Koenigs, a German-born banker, co-founded Rhodius Koenigs in Amsterdam in 1920 and became Dutch in February 1939. In 1935 his collection held 2,145 drawings and 47 paintings, on loan to Museum Boymans in Rotterdam.Dutch Restitutions Committee and 5 moreFritz Mannheimer: Josephine Baker, NL-HlmNHA 54004680001939 · Vaucresson, FranceBanker Fritz Mannheimer died ten weeks after his wedding, his bank failed, and Hitler bought his collection from the creditorsFritz Mannheimer, born in Stuttgart in 1890, ran Mendelssohn & Co. in Amsterdam. He had the bank buy his art and furniture for him.resources.huygens.knaw.nl and 2 moreBran Castle TB1: Bran Castle, Bran, Brasov, Transylvania, Romania.mw-parser-output .monument-istoric{width:400px;max-width:100%;margin:1px;padding:2px;background-color:#800000;colo1938 · Bran, Brașov County, RomaniaBrașov gave Bran Castle to Queen Marie in 1920, her daughter lost it in 1948, and Romania returned it to her grandchildren's generation in 2006On 1 December 1920 the city council of Brașov voted unanimously to give Bran Castle to Queen Marie of Romania. She made it her favourite home. Her daughter, Princess Ileana, received the castle by her will.bran-castle.com and 5 moreVladimir Lenin: Lenin in 1920 (cropped)1936 · ParisLenin's 1918 decree took Sergei Shchukin's 258 paintings, and his heirs' claims in Paris and Los Angeles failedSergei Shchukin, a Moscow textile merchant, hung 258 paintings in his mansion, including works by Matisse and Picasso. He emigrated in August 1918.kommersant.ru and 6 moreWerner Herzog: Werner Herzog-92901934 · HungaryHungary seized Baron Herzog's collection of 2,000 artworks in 1944, and US courts ended his heirs' 15-year lawsuit in 2026Baron Mór Lipót Herzog assembled more than 2,000 paintings, sculptures and objects, the largest private collection in Hungary, with works by El Greco, Velázquez, Renoir and Monet.CourtListener and 5 morePortrait of Ivan Morozov21921 · Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary), CzechoslovakiaIvan Morozov's great-grandson sued Yale and the Met for a Van Gogh and a Cézanne seized by the Bolsheviks, and lost both casesIvan Morozov, a Moscow industrialist, built a modern art collection that ranked among the finest in Europe. In 1911 he bought Cézanne's Madame Cézanne in the Conservatory. He also owned Van Gogh's The Night Café of 1888.CourtListener and 7 moreFranz Ulrich Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau2009 · Buenos AiresFranz Ulrich Kinsky sued the Czech state more than 100 times for land taken in 1945, and Strasbourg ruled his trials unfairFranz Ulrich Kinsky was born in Vienna in 1936. His father was a member of the Sudeten German Party, and the Czech government later called him "an apparent sympathiser of the Nazi regime".European Court of Human Rights and 3 moreAI illustration: Alton Towers, Staffordshire, in the 1850s1856 · Alton Towers, StaffordshireThe 17th Earl of Shrewsbury left his estates to the Duke of Norfolk's baby son; a distant cousin won the earldom and Alton TowersBertram Talbot, 17th Earl of Shrewsbury, was a Catholic. He died unmarried on 10 August 1856, aged 23. He believed the earldom died with him.UK Parliament, Hansard and 6 moreEdward III: Edward III of England (Order of the Garter)1343 · FlorenceEdward III did not repay the Bardi and Peruzzi, and both Florentine banks failed in the 1340sThe Bardi and Peruzzi companies of Florence lent to kings across Europe. The Bardi lent at least £72,631 to the English Crown between 1290 and 1326.british-history.ac.uk and 4 moreAgatha Christie: Agatha Christie in Nederland (detectiveschrijfster), bij aankomst op Schiphol me, Bestanddeelnr 916-8898 (cropped)1861 · Great Western Hotel, Paddington, LondonThe 2nd Duke of Buckingham owed £1.46 million, fled his creditors, and Christie's sold the contents of Stowe in 1848Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, inherited Stowe in Buckinghamshire with debts already on it. By 1845 he owed £1,464,959.Google Books and 5 moreJakob Fugger: Portrait of Jakob Fugger, (1459-1525)1525 · AugsburgJakob Fugger paid for Charles V's election, and his heirs lost much of the fortune when the Spanish crown stopped payingJakob Fugger of Augsburg built a fortune in mining, trade and lending. In 1519 Charles of Habsburg needed money to buy the votes of the prince-electors. About 850,000 guilders went to the electors.Encyclopaedia Britannica and 7 moreHarald Quandt1954 · CairoThe Quandt fortune behind BMW used about 50,000 forced labourers, a 2011 family-funded study foundGünther Quandt owned textile, battery and arms companies. He married Magda Ritschel in 1921; they divorced in 1929. In December 1931 she married Joseph Goebbels at Gut Severin, an estate Quandt owned, with Hitler as witness.Internet Archive and 8 moreAI illustration: Hinton House, the Poulett seat at Hinton St George, Somerset, 1890s1899 · Hinton St George, Somerset (family seat)The House of Lords gave the Poulett earldom to the 6th Earl's 15-year-old son over the elder son the Earl disownedWilliam Henry Poulett, 6th Earl Poulett, inherited Hinton House and about 11,000 acres in Somerset in 1864. In 1849 he married Elizabeth Lavinia Newman, who was already pregnant, and left her that August.UK Parliament, Hansard and 6 moreDunrobin Castle, where the story took place1892 · Dunrobin Castle, SutherlandThe 3rd Duke of Sutherland left his fortune to his second wife, and she went to Holloway prison for contemptGeorge Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland, owned Dunrobin, Trentham and Stafford House. His first wife Anne died on 25 November 1888.UK Parliament, Hansard and 4 moreHamilton Palace: HamiltonPalacepostcard1895 · AlgiersThe Dukes of Hamilton sold Hamilton Palace's collections in 1882 and 1919, then demolished the palace over mining subsidenceHamilton Palace near Glasgow was the seat of the Dukes of Hamilton. Through the 10th Duke's marriage to William Beckford's daughter it held Beckford's collection, including Velázquez's Philip IV in brown and silver.UK Parliament, Hansard and 7 moreAI illustration: An unsigned will found in William Jennens's coat pocket at Acton Place, Suffolk, 17981798 · Acton Place, SuffolkWilliam Jennens died with an unsigned will in his pocket, and claimants fought over his fortune until 1915William Jennens lived alone in the basement of Acton Place near Long Melford. The Bury and Norwich Post called him "the richest commoner in England" and said his property exceeded £2 million. Historians put it nearer £1.1 million.Journal article (DOI) and 5 moreAI illustration: Peers in Westminster Hall at the bigamy trial of the Duchess of Kingston, 17761788 · ParisThe House of Lords convicted the Duchess of Kingston of bigamy, and she left England with the Duke's fortuneElizabeth Chudleigh, maid of honour to the Princess of Wales, secretly married the naval officer Augustus Hervey at Lainston, near Winchester, on 4 August 1744. They hid it so she could keep her court post.Wikisource (primary text) and 4 moreAI illustration: The House of Lords chamber at Westminster hears a peerage claim, 17th century1632 · LondonThe House of Lords ruled the Earl of Banbury's sons were not his, and the Knollys family lost the earldom after 152 years of claimsWilliam Knollys, later 1st Earl of Banbury, married Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk, on 23 December 1605. He was about 58 and she was 19. Their son Edward was born on 10 April 1627, when the Earl was about 80.Internet Archive and 2 more