Nelson Mandela's Will Publicly Estimated at $4m

Executors of Nelson Mandela's will are estimating the former South African president's estate is worth roughly 4.1-million US dollars. The figures exclude royalties and other miscellaneous amounts. The details of the will have been announced publicly after it was read to members of Mandela's family. Dikgang Moseneke is the Chief Executor of Mandela's estate. "Yeah, reading wills, unfurling wills to families, always an occasion that is charged with emotions because it brings back so much. But it went well, and the will was read from page to page and there were clarifications sought from time to time as we moved on." Beneficiaries of Mandela's estate include his family, staff members, schools he attended, and the African National Congress, the movement which fought apartheid and now governs South Africa. Mandela's personal cook was suprised to hear she was listed among the beneficiaries. "I wouldn't know why he chose me but I thank God that he did that because it shows me that he has been respecting me and he loved me for who I am. I don't know for the other reasons, but he loved me for who I am and, as he said, as the judge read it, these are the reasons that he chose to give to these people, that these people they served him for all these years." The Chief Executor has acknowledged the total amout could change slightly as the document is studied more carefully. Mandela's will was drawn up in 2004, with provisions being update in 2005 and 2008. Graca Machel, Mandela's third-wife, is the main beneficiary of the will, as she has the right to half of his estate so long as she claims it within 90-days. Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, died on December 5th at the age of 95.