Nelson Mandela leaves €3 million estate

Former South African president Nelson Mandela has left his €3 million estate to family members, the ruling African National Congress, former staff and several local schools, according to a reading of his will today.

Deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke told reporters the division of the estate - provisionally valued at 46 million rand (€3 million) excluding royalties - had been accepted by Mandela’s family earlier today with no contestation so far.

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

Mr 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 Mr 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.

Mr 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 US-based granddaughters starred in a reality television show called Being Mandela.

Such aggressive marketing - as well as reports of fighting among family members over Mr Mandela's money - have fuelled the impression in South Africa that some of the family members have exploited their famous relative.

Reuters