Don’t we all wish that we were Alexander McQueen’s dogs. That’s because, as his will has recently revealed, he left £50,000 of his £16million fortune to his dogs. The money will go into a trust and will ensure that those beloved dogs are taken care of during their lifetimes. What a relief.
Donating his Fortune
McQueen, who died last year, donated almost all of the rest of his fortune to charity. He gave £100,000 each to The Terrence Higgins Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the London Buddhist Centre and the Blue Cross sick animal centre in Burford, Oxfordshire.
The rest of his money has been left in a trust for his Sarabande charity. While he didn’t specify what has to be done with the money, he asked the charity to consider using it to fund bursaries and grants for students from the Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design in London.
His housekeepers were lucky to be in the same class as his dogs. He left £50,000 for “long and faithful service” to his housekeepers, Marlene and Cesar Garcia. Unfortunately, Mr. Garcia was the one who found McQueen when he hanged himself in his Mayfair flat almost 18 months ago.
He also gave £50,000 to his godson and the same amount to each of his nieces and nephews. £250,000 was left to each of his three sisters and to his two brothers.
Huge Success in Fashion
Certainly, McQueen will be remembered as a hugely successful fashion designer. He hanged himself on the eve of his mother, Joyce’s, funeral and was said to have struggled with depression, with the pressures of his work and with his mother’s death.
The Alexander McQueen fashion house continues to be incredibly influential. Kate Middleton’s intricate wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton of the Alexander McQueen fashion house, received rave reviews and is the latest of the many success stories of McQueen.