Haunting the government from beyond the grave

This report from Reuters came across my desk, which I present without further comment:

An anonymous half-million pound bequest to Britain has mushroomed to 350 million pounds ($546 million) since it was made 85 years ago, trustee Barclays Bank said on Saturday - but London lawmakers can not get their hands on it.

The donor left the money in 1928, but said it should only be handed over once Britain had amassed enough funds to pay off its entire national debt, which now totals 1.2 trillion pounds.

There was a loophole:

[The] donor had stipulated the trustees could use part of the funds to pay down the debt if, in their opinion, national circumstances merited a payment.

But...

Neither World War Two nor any debt crises since have moved the trustees to pay out.

It seems that you can haunt the government from beyond the grave.



Cam Hui is a portfolio manager at Qwest Investment Fund Management Ltd. (“Qwest”). The opinions and any recommendations expressed in the blog are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions and recommendations of Qwest. Qwest reviews Mr. Hui’s blog to ensure it is connected with Mr. Hui’s obligation to deal fairly, honestly and in good faith with the blog’s readers.”

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