The death of fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld this past Tuesday (February 19) is still on the minds of many, for us especially since he played an important part in bringing Hip-Hop to the world of high fashion. Of course, the question on a lot of people’s minds right now is what will become of his fortune, with multiple reports setting the number somewhere between $125 – $200 million. Surprisingly enough, the first name to come up isn’t even human. Meet Choupette, the lucky cat that may be an heiress to one of the biggest fashion empires ever.
According to reports, the kept feline is in line to amass Lagerfeld’s inheritance being that he never had children of his own and considered the Birman cat to be the sole love of his life. In an interview with Numéro magazine last year, he went on record stating that Choupette is in fact in his will, “among others” as he put it, following up by stating, “Don’t worry, there is enough for everyone.” As other outlets have stated unfortunately, it’s illegal to leave your fortune to an animal after death overseas. However, PAPER Magazine brought up one pretty interesting point:
“While it is illegal to bequeath a pet money under French law, Lagerfeld’s German citizenship could provide a loophole. There’s actually some European precedent for beloved animals receiving lofty fortunes: an Italian cat inherited $15.6 million in 2011. In Australia, a pet chimpanzee once inherited $62.4 million.”
Another (human) name that came up that might be more feasible is his godson, 11-year-old child model Hudson Kroenig. Son of Lagerfeld’s muse Brad Kroenig, a model himself, young Hudson may be one of the “others” that the famed Chanel creative director mentioned in the quote above, but nothing has been set in stone yet. Whether Karl’s hard-earned fashion fortune ends up going to gourmet Kibbles ‘n Bits or a mass load of toys has yet to be confirmed, either way the world is lesser for his loss.
Cats? Children? Chanel? Who do you think Karl Lagerfeld’s fortune should go to? Sound off over on our Facebook and Twitter!
