Tommaso the cat strikes it rich; the Lego Tourist; and, introducing the artist Pockets Warhol…
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011• Tommaso, a former stray cat from Rome, became one of the world’s richest animals recently when he inherited more than $13 million in property and cash from his late mistress. Italian Maria Assunta, the childless widow of a property magnate, reportedly drew up a will which specified that Tommaso have her fortune spent on him and gave her lawyers the task of finding an animal welfare body to whom to give the inheritance and the job of looking after the four-year-old cat. The richest animal in the world is believed to be a German Shepherd called Gunther IV, who inherited about $140 million and who apparently now lives in a waterfront property in Miami. Follow this link for more on the world’s richest animals.
• He’s been everywhere, man. Lego Tourist is, you guessed it, a Lego man but what sets him apart from his millions of fellow minifigures is that he’s travelled thousands of kilometres around the world. Purchased by English woman Leanne Buchan last year before she took him to Australia, she now posts him to Lego enthusiasts around the world so they can photograph him in front of international landmarks and then mail him back. He’s already reportedly been snapped in front of so far are Tower Bridge in London, the Sydney Opera House and even in Norway where he attended the World Beard and Moustache Championships. Lego Tourist even has his own Facebook page where you can follow his wanderings.
• But back to animals and Pockets Warhol, a Capuchin monkey who lives at a primate sanctuary in Canada, must be toasting his success after reportedly selling his artworks for prices ranging into the hundreds of dollars. Buyers from as far afield as Europe have been buying the works which he started creating after being given the non-toxic paints to play with. The money raised will help fund a new barn for the sanctuary.