FAILURE TO MARRY ALLOWS CHARITY TO DEFEAT FUNG SHUI LOVER’S CLAIMS TO BILLIONS

DATELINE: February 2, 2010, Hong Kong

Our Ice House Street branch in Hong Kong has informed us of one of the great charity grabs of all time.  Yesterday, a Hong Kong court denied the claims of Tony Chan Chun-chuen, a fung shui master, to the fortune left by the late Nina Wang, Asia’s richest businesswoman.  Wang, who was dubbed...

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“Little Sweetie” by the media, was known for wearing girlish outfits and pigtails.   She purportedly left a set of her pigtails to Chun-chuen.

The dispute centered on two wills, one naming ChinaChem Charitable Foundation Ltd, as the beneficiary of Little Sweetie’s estate, and the other naming Chun-chuen.  The court ruled that the first will naming the charity was controlling, with media accounts raising the question of whether the second will was a forgery.  Some accounts refer to the second will as a fung shui will—one meant to be burned to extend life. 

The court did not dispute that Little Sweetie and Chun-chen were close and intimate friends.  Media accounts report that Wang referred to Chun-chen as “hubby,” “hubbykins,” and “hubby-pig.”  Throughout the affair, Hubby-Pig was married to another woman.  Little Sweetie came by her money through her first marriage to Teddy Wang, who was kidnapped in 1990 and subsequently declared legally dead.

Hubby-Pig is probably disappointed, particularly after helping Little Sweetie dig some 80 fung shui holes around Hong Kong, where they purportedly threw jade, gold, and coins for good luck.

The media reports that the 300-page decision is likely to be appealed.  That should please the residents of Hong Kong, where the trial has been closely followed.

According to the Wall Street Journal, if the foundation is allowed to retain the money, it will be used to start a Chinese Nobel Prize, with the selection committee comprised of the UN Secretary-General, the Chinese Premier, and the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.  Jonathan Cheng, Claim for Nina Wang’s Billions Rejected.

LESSONS:  There are many lessons in this case and probably a screenplay.  The most important:  If you are married and a boy-toy, get divorced from your wife,  marry your new billionaire sweetie, and have a will properly executed.  Failure to follow this advice could allow a charitable foundation to trump you claim.  Fortunately for Hubby Pig, Sweetie Pie was generous, purportedly giving Hubby Pig an estimated 258 million Hong Kong Dollars during her lifetime—about $33 million.  One report puts that amount at over 50 million pounds.

Second lesson:  If you are searching for a billionaire benefactor, learn to do back massages—that is how the relationship between Little Sweetie and Hubby-Pig apparently began.

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