Wacky Wednesday: Wills That Make You Go “Hmmm…” – Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Camara

NB: This post is part of a series highlighting wills that contain some interesting, and sometimes bizarre, bequests and stipulations. You can see all these posts here.

If you had no family and few friends, how would you want your assets distributed when you die? Would you leave your estate to charity? Would you consider leaving everything to complete strangers?

In 1988, thirteen years before he died of natural causes, Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Camara, a wealthy Portuguese bachelor, signed an unusual will. He had no children and very few friends. So he bequeathed his fortune to 70 strangers whom he randomly selected from the Lisbon telephone directory.

When his heirs were notified of their inheritance, most believed they were being scammed. However each received the equivalent of several thousand dollars. Not bad for just being listed in a phone book!