Who will inherit Jayalalithaa’s massive fortune, acquired through both legal and allegedly illegal means, is anyone’s guess after her death in Chennai on Monday.
According to the affidavit that Jayalalithaa filed with the Election Commission before the Tamil Nadu assembly polls in April 2016, she owned total assets worth Rs 113.73 crore.
Her movable assets amounted to nearly Rs 42 crore, and she owned land and property worth Rs 72.09 crore.
It was observed that her net worth had grown five-fold over 5 years through 2016, which was seen as unusual for someone who had stated agriculture as her profession.
While the future of her land and property ownership is going to be decided in coming days, serious challenges may be encountered in tracking and dividing her movable assets, the likes of jewellery, cash, watches, and cars among others. As per Jayalalithaa’s own confession, she owned legal movable assets worth Rs 42 crore.
As per Jayalalithaa’s own confession, she owned legal movable assets worth Rs 42 crore.
A raid at her Poes Garden residence in Chennai in 1997 the wake of corruption charges being pressed against her reportedly led tax authorities to a massive haul of 28 kg gold, 800kg of silver, 91 watches, 750 pairs of shoes and 10,500 sarees stashed in her home.
A more recent glimpse into her net worth in 2016 showed that she owned 1,250 kg of silver worth Rs 3,12,50,000. She stated that she couldn’t estimate the value of 21,280.300 grams of gold that she owned but had been seized by the Karnataka government in relation to a corruption case against her.
She also stated in the affidavit that she owned a couple of Toyota Prado SUVs, the total value of which was Rs 40 lakhs. She also had a Contessa, a Swaraj Mazada Maxi, a Mahindra Bolero, an Ambassador car, a Mahindra Jeep and a Tempo Trax, according to a report.
A former actress and a fashion icon of the 1970s that she was, Amma had a collection of 91 watches, 750 pairs of shoes and 10,500 sarees in 1997.
It’s a sad deal that she didn’t leave behind a will.
