The rich and famous often make plans for their pets to continue their luxurious lifestyle long after the owner passes, appointing someone in their wills to ensure that Fluffy and Fido continue getting pampered. Some of the pets even made the money themselves.
Grumpy Cat is an icon. With just three years on her Facebook page, "The Official Grumpy Cat," the frump-faced cat has garnered more than 8 million fans. Her rise to popularity was fast, but her little stature and calm personality is the opposite of what that million-dollar face brings in. It's "guesstimated" that Grumpy Cat's net worth is $100 million, although her owner said that's a bit of an exaggeration, according to TIME. Either way, this young cat is a multimillionaire who travels the world with her swag, her book deals, her calendars and that face.
"Queen of Mean" Leona Helmsley passed away in 2007 and shocked the world when the animal-loving Helmsley left $12 million to her beloved Maltese, Trouble, according to I Heart Dogs. The controversial move made Trouble a media sensation, but the fight in court had a judge whittle down the inheritance to $2 million, which was enough to care for Trouble until she passed in 2011. Because of the amount the little Maltese was worth, there were several kidnapping threats against the little dog.
Conchita the Chihuahua was already a pampered pooch hitting the Miami night clubs in her pearls, Cartier necklaces and being carried around in Louis Vuitton bags long before her owner passed. But when Miami heiress Gail Posner died, the socialite left a $3 million trust fund and the $8.3 million mansion - all of her fortune - to Conchita.
Choupette, fashion mogul Karl Lagerfeld's pampered cat, is another celebrity pet that has earned her riches. She earned $3.3 million last year with two modeling jobs, one for a Japanese beauty product and another for German cars. "She is the center of the world," Lagerfeld said, according to TIME. "If you saw her, you would understand. She is kind of Greta Garbo."
When Maria Assunta found a stray black cat in Rome, she was so smitten with the cat she named Tommaso that she left a $13 million fortune for his care to insure that he would be loved and cuddled.
German shepherd dog Gunther III, owned by Countess Karlotta Libenstein of Germany, is a jet-setting pooch who owns villas in Italy and the Bahamas, in addition to Madonna's Miami Beach mansion purchased in 2000. When the Countess died, she left her entire fortune of $80 million to Gunther III, which was transferred to his son, Gunther IV, upon Gunther III's death, according to The Richest. The Gunthers had some pretty savvy trustees of the estate who invested the inheritance, turning it into about $370 million, allotting the shepherd to keep up his life of luxury.
The richest chicken award goes to Gigoo, owned by British publishing giant Miles Blackwell, who retired to the country when he sold his interest in the family business. Blackwell raised rare sheep and hens, and his favorite was Gigoo. While Blackwell gave most of his fortune to charity, he left $15 million to his favorite hen, Gigoo.
With the rise in super stardom of pets on social media coupled with the bonds we all have with our furry friends, this might only be the tip of the iceberg of rich pets that we will be seeing in the very near future.
