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| Nelson Mandela |
We learned this week that Nelson Mandela left NOTHING to Winnie, his wife of nearly 40 years in his will. According to Financial Juneteenth:
“A large percentage of Mandela’s wealth was left to Graca Machel, his widow and third wife. She received half of his estate. Mandela also gave $300,000 to his three children, and each grandchild received an amount ranging from between $9,000 and $300,000 apiece. He also left money to his staff members, but not to the woman he was married to for nearly 40 years.
Nelson and Winnie met in 1957 and married in 1958. They were together for all of Mandela’s 27-year prison sentence, and separated after he became president of South Africa in 1994. The divorce was finalized two years later. Some say that Winnie’s controversial disposition would have made it nearly impossible for Nelson to have become president of a nation that was trying to heal from racial divides of the past.
Winnie paid her dues. She was known as the “Mother of the Nation” and suffered torture and imprisonment for standing up against apartheid. She also helped to lead the campaign that led to her husband being released. Without Winnie, there is no Nelson Mandela: There is no movement. There is no presidency. There is no wealth. Instead, he is just another inmate who spends the rest of his life in prison. Maybe that gives us all something to think about.”
You must visit the Financial Juneteenth to read Financial Lovemaking lessons from this story.
Are you surprised that Nelson did not leave anything for Winnie?
