Nelson Mandela Left $4,13m Estate

Nelson Mandela Left $4,13m Estate

Nelson Mandela left an estate valued at over 46 million rand ($4.13m; over N673 million), according to a public reading of his will on Monday.

After going through a 40-page document, executor Justice Dikgang Moseneke said there was no "contest" to the will.

Close personal staff will each get 50,000 rand (about N731,689). Schools the former South African president attended are due to receive 100,000 rand (about N1,463,377). He also left 100,000 rand to each of four other educational institutions, for bursaries and scholarships.

Nelson Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, activist, lawyer, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, died in December, aged 95.

He left behind an estate that includes an upmarket 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.

Justice 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 family trust will receive 1.5m rand (about N21,950,660) plus royalties.

The mood of the Mandela family when the will was read was "charged with emotions," executor said, but added that everything "went well". The Mandela family seemed to be "well pleased" by the will.

The ruling African National Congress will also receive an undisclosed sum to be used at the discretion of the party's executive committee.

Furthermore, Mandela's 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.

There is a 90-day period during which the will can be contested.

Source: Legit.ng

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Khadijah Thabit (Copyeditor) Khadijah Thabit is an editor with over 3 years of experience editing and managing contents such as articles, blogs, newsletters and social leads. She has a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Khadijah joined Legit.ng in September 2020 as a copyeditor and proofreader for the Human Interest, Current Affairs, Business, Sports and PR desks. As a grammar police, she develops her skills by reading novels and dictionaries. Email: khadeeejathabit@gmail.com