Designer’s cat could be in his will

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This article was published 26/02/2019 (2708 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Karl Lagerfeld’s Birman cat, Choupette, is expected to inherit at least some of the designer’s fortune.

Lagerfeld was an eccentric German designer who blended fashion and art; who favoured white hair, black sunglasses and 19th-century-style shirt collars; and simultaneously was creative director of French (Chanel), Italian (Fendi) and eponymous international fashion labels.

Lagerfeld died on Feb. 19 at age 85, and prior to his passing, he told French magazine Le Figaro that Choupette is an heiress. The creative director had an estimated net worth of anywhere between US$195 million and US$300 million, and the feline could inherit at least a portion.

Choupette is a celebrity in her own right. She has a budding modelling career, is a social media influencer (she has upwards of 260,000 followers on Instagram) and is the subject of a novel.

According to Compare the Market, which put together a list of the wealthiest pets in the world, Lagerfeld’s French feline pet has a current net worth of US$3.5 million — but she’s not even in the top 10. Aside from her pending inheritance, Choupette receives her income from her modelling career and has a bank account in her name.

Even if she inherited all of Lagerfeld’s fortune, Choupette wouldn’t be the richest pet in the world.

Gunther IV, a German shepherd from Germany who comes from old money, is the richest pet with a net worth estimated at US$375 million. He inherited the money from his father, who inherited it from German countess Carlotta Liebenstein when she died in 1991.

Even though she won’t be the richest pet in the world, it looks like Choupette will still continue to live her life of luxury.

The cat has maids, as in more than one, who tend to her needs. In her leisure time, Choupette enjoys sunbathing, eating caviar, browsing social media, catnapping and travelling on private jets.

At one point in 2013, Lagerfeld said he wanted to marry his closest companion — Choupette.

Whether or not Choupette will actually see any of her inheritance is still up in the air. In France, it’s illegal to have an animal be the heir to a will, but Lagerfeld may have found ways around the law. He could have created a foundation in the cat’s name or designated a person to inherit the money and take care of the feline, for instance.

In her latest Instagram post, the feline posted a message of mourning and thanked her followers for their condolences.

“With a once cold but now simply broken heart, I am going into mourning,” Choupette captioned the post.

“I pray that your kind words and well-wishes will help me to put my best paw forward in my future without Daddy @KarlLagerfeld & as my own woman.”

— USA Today