A Cat Worth $13 Million? There's an Heir of Truth about That

We're just going to have to get used to it. Tommaso is richer than we are. Tommaso is richer than all of us put together.

Tommaso is not some previously unknown heir to the Silvio Berlusconi fortune (although that might be dwindling a bit these days). Tommaso is not even a bambino. 

No, Tommaso is a cat.

An Italian woman, Maria Assunta, who had inherited a large fortune when her husband, died turned around and, at age 94, having no children, left the money to the cat.

The money in this case was a collection of properties in Rome and Milan, a bit of land in Calabria, and a pile of cash. In all, the total is $13 million.

You have to hand it to some people. They know how to go out in style.

According to Stefania, the nurse who cared for Mrs. Assunta in the last weeks in her life, the woman was devoted to the cat, which she had rescued from the streets of Rome. She tried to leave the money to an animal welfare group but couldn't find one to her satisfaction. So the cat got all the money.

So, Stefania and Tommaso are living somewhere in Italy, their location and last names undisclosed — hers for privacy reasons and his because he never had one.

A cat with $13 million? Now that's a lot of catnip.

But Tommaso isn't the world's richest pet. He's not even close. That honor belongs to Gunther IV, a German shepherd who inherited $124 million from his owner, a German countess, when she died a few years ago. Gunther, being a resourceful dog, has invested wisely (including in an apartment once owned by Madonna) and is now worth $372 million.

But Tommaso isn't the world's second-richest pet. No, that distinction is held by Kalu, a chimp whose owner left him what is now a fortune of $80 million. 

Tommaso's $13 million seems quite paltry compared to what Gunther and Kalu can bring to the table. (Now that's a sight I'd like to see.)

Maybe we're looking at a new opportunity for Forbes or Fortune here: The Pet 100.