×

Our award-winning reporting has moved

Context provides news and analysis on three of the world’s most critical issues:

climate change, the impact of technology on society, and inclusive economies.

Nelson Mandela leaves ${esc.dollar}4 mln estate to family, staff and ANC

by Reuters
Monday, 3 February 2014 12:24 GMT

(Corrects third paragraph to show Graca Machel may waive claims to the estate but has not done so yet.)

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela has left his $4.1 million estate to family members, the ruling African National Congress, former staff and several local schools, according to a reading of his will on Monday.

Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke told reporters the division of the estate - provisionally valued at 46 million rand ($4.1 million) excluding royalties - had been accepted by Mandela's family earlier on Monday with no contestation so far.

Mandela's third wife, Graca Machel, may waive her claims to the estate, Moseneke said at a news conference where he summarised parts of Mandela's 40-page will.

Moseneke said some of the estate would be split between three trusts set up by Mandela, including a family trust designed to provide for his more than 30 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The reading of Mandela's will was expected to set off another round of squabbling among members of his large and factious family over the anti-apartheid hero's financial legacy.

Mandela, who died in December at the age of 95, left behind an estate that includes an upscale house in Johannesburg, a modest dwelling in his rural Eastern Cape home province and royalties from book sales, including his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom".

More visibly, his legacy includes a potent political and moral brand that some of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren have already used to market everything from clothing to reality TV.

Some of his grandchildren have started a line of caps and sweatshirts that feature his image under the brand "Long Walk to Freedom". Two of his U.S.-based granddaughters starred in a reality television show called "Being Mandela".

Such aggressive marketing - as well as reports of fighting among family members over Mandela's money - have fuelled the impression in South Africa that some of the family members have exploited their famous relative. ($1 = 11.1688 South African rand) (Reporting by David Dolan and Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Larry King)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

-->