Father leaves £41m fortune to Oxfam

A British businessman who died alongside his family in a seaplane crash has left a reported £41 million fortune to scandal-hit charity Oxfam.

The organisation said it was “extremely grateful” for the bequest from Richard Cousins, who died alongside his fiancée, his two sons and her daughter in the crash on New Year’s Eve in Sydney.

The sum will be a welcome boost to the charity’s coffers after it reported thousands had cancelled donations in the wake of the Haiti sex scandal.

Oxfam was unable to confirm the sum donated, but it was reported to be £41m. A “common tragedy clause” was drawn up in his will a year before the accident stating the charity would be the main beneficiary if he was killed alongside his sons. An Oxfam spokesman said: “We are working with the family and our board of trustees to identify how the money will be used.”

The 58-year-old Compass Group chief executive, former OK! Magazine arts editor Emma Bowden, 48, his sons Will and Edward, 25 and 23, and her 11-year-old daughter died alongside the pilot when their seaplane plunged into Jerusalem Bay.