World's Richest Cat? Italian Feline Tommaso Inherits Fortune

It's a veritable rags-to-riches story for Tommaso, one of Rome's many stray cats, who found a home with an heiress.

The Italian feline prowled away with a whopping 10 million euro after his wealthy owner passed away last month.

The Guardian reports that the owner, a 94-year-old woman identified as Maria Assunta, left her fortune and properties -- worth over $13 million -- to Tommaso the cat. According to The Telegraph, Maria Assunta left her "entire estate" to the cat under the care of a trusted nurse (Italian law, perhaps unsurprisingly, does not allow animals to inherit directly).

Despite Tommaso's new fortune, ABC News notes that his riches only put him at number 3 on the list of the world's richest pets. Even so, this feline's fortune puts him leaps ahead of the estimated 180,000 stray cats that reportedly roam the streets of Rome.

Comments

[ontariogirl]

05:05 PM on 12/20/2011

Hello Kitty!

[amaboss52]

04:54 PM on 12/19/2011

I wonder if that cat would lend my cat some money? My cats' a 99%er.

[gurukalehuru]

02:16 PM on 12/18/2011

That nurse just lucked out, big time.

[MJinCanada]

04:38 PM on 12/19/2011

You know, I always figured the butler in "The Aristocats" was such an idiot. I can't imagine a cushier job than being guardian to a bunch of rich cats. It's like Magnum PI getting to drive that Ferrari all the time.

[pogo]

09:23 AM on 12/18/2011

Wife to husband: "You know, I think my kitty will outlive me!"
Husband: "Not by more than an hour."

[robmclaughjr]

01:57 AM on 12/18/2011

Cats inheriting wealth is the perfect example of the disgusting nature of inheritance. This short-lived feline "owns" the collective work of thousands of humans. By the very nature of capitalism, those humans worked far harder than they were paid for their work. Now this labor resides in this cat. Or to be fair, with a bunch of lawyers representing the cat. Why should people work for anything if this is the final product?

[WorkhelpWorkhelp]

03:34 PM on 12/18/2011

It's called "love."
Ain't it neat.

[joy1960]

06:47 PM on 01/19/2012

I don't think any person should expect to inherit anything. If you want money, earn it. Could be this cat was far kinder to this women than her own family.

[Dennis]

05:44 PM on 12/17/2011

I'm leaving my 1992 Ford Escort to my dog. He enjoys riding in it much more than I do.

[MJinCanada]

04:39 PM on 12/19/2011

And he can use the tires any time he likes too.

[Dennis]

05:00 PM on 12/19/2011

LOL! I think they're his favorite part of the car.

Fanned in appreciation for a good laugh. 

[haljil]

04:57 PM on 12/13/2011

Meeeoooow!

[abuckley23]

04:48 PM on 12/13/2011

I saw an episode of Looney Tunes where Sylvester inherited a whole bunch of cash. It didn't end well for him. Tommaso should watch his back...

[walkaway]

09:24 AM on 12/18/2011

Especially if there is a small yellow bird with a large head standing behind him!

[FTracy3]

04:33 PM on 12/13/2011

I bet this cat blow the whole $13 million on drugs and hookers within a year.

[lonewolfwisconsin]

08:16 AM on 12/14/2011

Naaa.... some Capitalist will convince the Cat that if he/she would just give them the money, they would double it via credit-default swaps.

[walkaway]

09:26 AM on 12/18/2011

I'm going out to buy a litter box in case he pisses it all away!

[cybervigilante]

02:28 PM on 12/13/2011

Makes me feel bad about my last catburger - burp!

[LVNVprog]

01:07 PM on 12/13/2011

180,000 Stray Cats in Rome, this city of 3 million should not have a single Rat or Mouse.

[mamacat]

12:07 PM on 12/13/2011

Another example of money put to a use that is less than stellar?

A number of young, filthy-rich movie stars use their money to adopt one or two orphans, rather than using their wealth to fund programs. Rich, Hollywood stars would be wiser to use their wealth to fund entire orphanages, and thus benefit thousands of bereft youth, rather than save just one or two orphans, while letting their brethren perish.
I applaud the good intentions of Hollywood glamour people who go to third world countries to save a baby, but not their lack of intelligence.

[mamacat]

11:59 AM on 12/13/2011

What fools these mortals be.

[pete2polly]

10:45 AM on 12/13/2011

I'm giving my estate to a single sequoia tree. It will out live any lawyer.

[opinionlady1]

10:17 AM on 12/13/2011

What a dummy. She could have, prior to her death, made sure her money was used to help animals. This is pure stupidity. Unless this "nurse" is the most moral person in the world (and maybe she is), and was given some instructions from her boss as to how to apply the money and actually will follow those guidelines because she is moral and/or agrees with the old lady, that money is gone. Sickening. With all those stray cats in rome, she could have paid for each and every one of them to be picked up, altered, vaccinated, some re-homed, some pts (sorry but it is part of the process) and some returned to feral colonies. She could have almost single-handedly curtailed the stray cat population/problem in rome. I am very unimpressed with her logic.

[nevada4me]

10:10 AM on 12/14/2011

it's sad to think that so many DON'T have a clue what a moral person is, much less know one...

I guess it's true....the company that you keep...etc...etc...

I have lifetime friends that I not only trust with the keys to my house...

I trust them to do the right thing when I'm gone....

[WorkhelpWorkhelp]

03:36 PM on 12/18/2011

Exactly. This woman couldn't have had any friends. Not any more intelligent than her. Money makes people act so strange sometimes.