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Military families

Generals, soldiers and military dynasties: war rewards, confiscated estates and inheritance.

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What do the military families estate cases show?

A will can name a successor to a title, but with no law to enforce it the passed-over heir keeps his claim. A donor agreement with a fixed opening date let Zhang decide when his own record became public.

Stories
32
Years
1722 to 2021
Main regions
Europe, North America, Latin America
Legal traditions
Civil law, Common law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in military 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.

Louis, 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 moreZhang Xueliang: Chang Shueliang2001 · HonoluluZhang Xueliang inherited his murdered father's Manchurian army in 1928 and spent more than 50 years in detentionOn 4 June 1928 a bomb planted by Col. Komoto Daisaku of Japan's Kwantung Army hit warlord Zhang Zuolin's train at Huanggutun near Shenyang. Zhang died a few hours later, and his death was kept secret for more than two weeks.library.columbia.edu and 4 moreErwin Rommel: Erwin-Rommel-19411944 · In a car between Herrlingen and Wippingen, WürttembergRommel took poison on 14 October 1944 in exchange for a state funeral and pensions for his familyFrom October 1943 Erwin Rommel's family lived at Wippinger Steige 13 in Herrlingen. Until 1939 the house had belonged to a Jewish boarding school run by Hugo Rosenthal.ifz-muenchen.de and 3 moreAdolf Hitler: Hitler portrait crop (cropped)(2)1954 · Schwangau, West GermanyHitler paid his field marshals 4,000 Reichsmarks a month and gave Guderian a confiscated Polish estateHitler ran a secret fund called Konto 5, managed by Hans Lammers. It grew from about 150,000 RM in 1933 to about 40 million RM by 1945.journals.uchicago.edu and 3 moreBenedict Arnold: General Benedict Arnoldlabel QS:Len,"General Benedict Arnold"1801 · LondonBenedict Arnold was paid £6,315 for changing sides and died in debt; his widow paid the debtsBenedict Arnold asked General Henry Clinton for £20,000 if his plot to hand West Point to the British succeeded and £10,000 if it failed. Clinton offered at most £6,000 for failure.American Heritage and 1 moreAI illustration: A bank transfer order on a field desk inside the Malinta Tunnel, Corregidor, 19421964 · Washington, D.C.Philippine Executive Order No. 1 paid MacArthur $500,000 in 1942, and the payment stayed secret until 1979On 3 January 1942, on Corregidor, Philippine President Manuel Quezon signed Executive Order No. 1. It granted Douglas MacArthur $500,000. It also granted Richard K. Sutherland $75,000, Richard J. Marshall Jr. $45,000 and Sidney L.vtechworks.lib.vt.edu and 6 moreSuharto: President Suharto, 19932008 · JakartaIndonesia's Supreme Court ordered General Suharto's Supersemar foundation to pay about 4.4 trillion rupiahSuharto founded the Supersemar scholarship foundation on 16 May 1974. A 1976 government regulation directed half of 5 percent of state bank net profits to it. By 1998 it had received about $420 million and 185 billion rupiah.news.detik.com and 4 moreHideki Tojo: Hideki Tojo Portrait 1941 (3x4 cropped)(2)1948 · Sugamo Prison, TokyoUS Army papers show Hideki Tojo's ashes were scattered over the Pacific in 1948Hideki Tojo and six other Class A war criminals were hanged at Sugamo Prison on 23 December 1948. Their caskets left the prison by truck for the Kuboyama crematorium in Yokohama.wjla.com and 4 moreChun Doo-hwan: Chun Doo-hwan (전두환) Presidential Portrait2021 · Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, SeoulSouth Korea could not collect 86.7 billion won of Chun Doo-hwan's forfeiture after he diedIn 1997 the Supreme Court confirmed Chun Doo-hwan's life sentence and ordered him to forfeit 220.5 billion won. He was pardoned in December 1997, but the forfeiture stayed in force.The Korea Herald and 8 moreMausoleum of General Sani Abacha in Kano1998 · AbujaFour governments returned more than $780 million of General Sani Abacha's money to NigeriaA November 1998 report by the next military government said about $1.4 billion in cash had been moved out through national security adviser Ismaila Gwarzo and Mohammed Sada.justice.gov and 3 moreGebhard Leberecht von Blücher: Field Marshal Prince von Blucher1819 · Krieblowitz, Silesia (now Krobielowice, Poland)Soviet soldiers emptied Blücher's mausoleum in 1945, and his family lost the Silesian estateIn 1814 Frederick William III created Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Prince of Wahlstatt and gave him the Krieblowitz estate near Breslau. Blücher died there on 12 September 1819. His embalmed body was placed in a church crypt.tvn24.pl and 3 moreFrancisco Franco: Francisco Franco posed portrait photograph1975 · MadridSpain's Supreme Court confirmed in March 2026 that Franco's grandchildren must give the Pazo de Meirás to the stateWhen Francisco Franco died he left 22 properties, including a chalet in Miami (EFE, 20 November 2025).Boletín Oficial del Estado and 6 morePhilippe Pétain: Pétain - portrait photographique1951 · Port-Joinville, Île d'Yeu, FrancePétain's property was confiscated in 1945 and his coffin was stolen from Île d'Yeu in 1973The High Court tried Philippe Pétain from 23 July to 15 August 1945. It sentenced him to death, national indignity and confiscation of his property. De Gaulle commuted the sentence to life imprisonment on 17 August 1945.ina.fr and 3 moreAli Pasha of Yanina: Portrait of Ali Pasha1822 · Pandeleimon Monastery, IoanninaThe Ottoman state killed Ali Pasha of Ioannina in 1822 and confiscated more than 950 farmsAli Pasha ruled Ioannina and much of Epirus for decades. The Ottoman government declared him a rebel in 1820.islamansiklopedisi.org.tr and 2 moreAugusto Pinochet: Augusto Pinochet foto oficial(b)2006 · Santiago, ChileChile's Supreme Court forfeited Pinochet's assets in 2018 after the US Senate exposed his Riggs Bank accountsAugusto Pinochet ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990.latercera.com and 2 morePaul von Hindenburg: Paul v. Hindenburg1934 · Neudeck, East Prussia (now Ogrodzieniec, Poland)Hindenburg's Neudeck estate was put in his son's name, and Hitler's government added tax-free landThe Hindenburg family had held Neudeck since 1755. By 1927 the estate was in debt. Elard von Oldenburg-Januschau raised money, mainly from the Reich Association of German Industry and the Reichslandbund, and bought it back.text-message.blogs.archives.gov and 5 moreDouglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig: Sir Douglas Haig1928 · LondonEarl Haig was given £100,000 by Parliament and an estate by public subscription, and his earldom has no heir in 2026Field Marshal Douglas Haig commanded the British armies in France from 1915 to 1918. He turned down a viscountcy in November 1918, partly to press for state aid to demobilised soldiers. He was created Earl Haig on 18 October 1919.The Gazette and 3 moreAlfredo Stroessner: Alfredo Stroessner at desk (1cropped)2006 · Brasília, BrazilStroessner's family wealth was never prosecuted, and human bones were found in his former house in 2019Alfredo Stroessner ruled Paraguay from 1954 until a coup on 2 to 3 February 1989. He went into exile in Brazil on 5 February 1989.NBC News and 5 moreAI illustration: A burned-out car on a street in Asunción, Paraguay, 19801980 · Asunción, ParaguayNicaragua's Decree 3 confiscated Somoza family property in 1979, and Somoza was killed in Asunción in 1980Anastasio Somoza Debayle was the third Somoza to rule Nicaragua in a family line that lasted 43 years. When he fled on 17 July 1979 he personally controlled 22 percent of the country's farmland.nicaragua.justia.com and 4 moreAI illustration: Soldiers guard the gates of a confiscated Trujillo family estate, Dominican Republic, 19621961 · Near Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic confiscated the Trujillo family's property by law in 1962, and his remains lie in a cemetery near MadridRafael Leónidas Trujillo ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until he was shot on 30 May 1961. A September 1961 CIA document, as reported by Dominican Today, says his widow María Martínez left for Paris with about US$46 million.memoriahistorica.senadord.gob.do and 6 moreUlysses S. Grant: Gen. U.S. Grant writing his memoirs, Mount McGregor, June 27th, 1885 LCCN965222501885 · Mount McGregor, New YorkGrant lost his savings in the Grant & Ward fraud and wrote memoirs that paid his widow about $450,000In 1880 Wall Street backers raised a $250,000 trust fund for Ulysses S. Grant. Grant invested in Grant & Ward, his son's brokerage, which was run by Ferdinand Ward. Ward was running a Ponzi scheme.US National Park Service and 5 moreArlington House, east front, June 28, 1864 LCCN20046801401857 · Arlington, VirginiaThe Lee family lost Arlington over a $92.07 tax, the Army buried soldiers on it, and the Supreme Court awarded $150,000George Washington Parke Custis, Martha Washington's grandson, died in 1857. His 1855 will left Arlington to his daughter Mary Custis Lee for life, then to her son G.W. Custis Lee.Cornell Law School, LII and 5 moreApsley House, where the story took place1852 · Walmer Castle, KentParliament bought Wellington an estate, and the 7th Duke gave Apsley House to the nation in 1947 while keeping a family flatOn 23 June 1815, five days after Waterloo, the Commons agreed without dissent to a further grant of up to £200,000 for the Duke of Wellington's house, on top of sums already voted.The Gazette and 5 moreHelmuth von Moltke the Elder: Portrait of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (by Carl Günther) - BNF Gallica (cropped)1891 · BerlinMoltke bought Kreisau with his 1866 war grant; his great-grandnephew was hanged in 1945 and the family lost the estateAfter the 1866 war the Prussian state gave Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke a cash grant. He bought Gut Kreisau in Silesia, about 500 hectares, on 1 August 1867.krzyzowa.pl and 4 moreJohn Byng: Portrait of Admiral John Byng (1704-1757)1757 · HMS Monarch, SolentAdmiral John Byng was shot under the Articles of War, his family kept his estate, and no pardon has been grantedAfter Minorca was lost in 1756, Admiral John Byng was court-martialed aboard HMS St George at Portsmouth from 28 December 1756. On 27 January 1757 the court acquitted him of cowardice.Royal Museums Greenwich and 3 moreArthur Wellesley: The Duke of Wellington is standing at half-length, wearing Field Marshal’s uniform, with the Garter star and sash, the badge of the Golden Fleece, and a special b1852 · Walmer Castle, KentBelgium bought out the Duke of Wellington's "perpetual" Waterloo rent in 1988 and kept a right to take back the landWilliam I of the Netherlands made Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, Prince of Waterloo by royal decree of 8 July 1815.Boletín Oficial del Estado and 3 moreJuan Manuel de Rosas: Juan Manuel de Rosas by Norris1877 · Southampton, EnglandArgentina confiscated Rosas's property and sentenced him to death; he died a tenant farmer in England and was reburied in 1989Juan Manuel de Rosas governed Buenos Aires and led the Argentine Confederation until Justo José de Urquiza defeated him at Caseros on 3 February 1852. He sheltered in the British legation and sailed to England.infobae.com and 3 moreHoratio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson: Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, 1758-1805 label QS:Len,"Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, 1758-1805"label QS:Lar,"نائب أ1805 · HMS Victory, off Cape TrafalgarNelson left Emma Hamilton to the nation; Parliament paid his brother and Emma died in debt in CalaisOn the morning of Trafalgar, Horatio Nelson wrote a codicil leaving Emma, Lady Hamilton "a legacy to my King and country".UK Parliament, Hansard and 7 moreGeorge Washington: George Washington label QS:Les,"George Washington, primer presidente de los E.E. U.U."label QS:Len,"George Washington"1799 · Mount Vernon, VirginiaWashington's will freed 123 people, his heir sold 54 more, and the family sold Mount Vernon for $200,000In 1799, 317 enslaved people lived at Mount Vernon. George Washington owned 124 of them and leased 40. The other 153 were Custis dower slaves he could not legally free. His July 1799 will freed his valet, William Lee, at once.founders.archives.gov and 3 moreMustafa Kemal Atatürk: Ataturk1930s1938 · Dolmabahçe Palace, IstanbulAtatürk left his İş Bankası shares to his party, and the state took them twiceAtatürk signed his will at Dolmabahçe on 5 September 1938 and lodged it with an Istanbul notary on 6 October 1938. At his death his İş Bankası account held 1,446,872.03 lira and 114,891 shares.sozcu.com.tr and 3 moreAntonio López de Santa Anna: Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna c18531876 · Mexico CitySanta Anna sold La Mesilla to the United States for $10 million, mortgaged his estates from exile, and Illinois keeps his legAntonio López de Santa Anna was president of Mexico several times. He lost a leg in the French attack on Veracruz in 1838 and buried it with military honors.history.state.gov and 3 moreJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough: John Churchill (1650–1722), 1st Duke of Marlborough, Captain-General of the English Forces and Master-General of the Ord1722 · Windsor LodgeMarlborough's £5,000 Post Office pension was paid to his heirs for 178 years, and Blenheim's builders went unpaid in 1712After Blenheim, Queen Anne gave John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, £5,000 a year from the Post Office for her own life. The Commons refused to make it permanent.UK Parliament, Hansard and 3 more