LONDON: Richard Cousins,the highly-regardedhead of catering giant Compasswho was killed in a plane crash, reportedly left£41 million to Oxfam in a recently updated will.
The 58-year-old tycoondied in a seaplane crash near Sydney onNew Year’s Eve, along with his two sons, fiancéeEmma Bowden, and her daughter while on a dream holiday to Australia.
Cousins reportedly originally planned to leave his wealth to his sonsWilliam, 25, and Edward, 23. However, a year before the tragedy in Australiahe drew up a new will, inserting a “common tragedy clause” thatwould come into force if he and his sons were all killed together, the Sun reported.
When tragedy struck,the main beneficiary was Oxfam, reportedly receiving all but £3 million of his fortune. His brother, Simon and Andrew, were left £1 million each, the newspaper reported.“It’s the kind of bequest charities dream of. There will rightly be heavy scrutiny of how the money is spent,” a source told the paper.Oxfam has yet to respond to the Telegraph’s request for comment.
The large bequest comes as Oxfam reels froma sex scandal that has roiled the charity sector.—