Tycoon who gave away £1bn leaves drugs battle son nothing
Cyril Dixon
DRINKS carton tycoon Hans Rausing left his only son out of his £1.2million will, the Daily Express can reveal today.
The Tetra Pak figurehead, who died aged 93 last year, split most of his British assets between his wife Marit and daughters Lisbet and Sigrid.
Swedish-born Mr Rausing, who gave millions away to charity in his lifetime, did not mention his son Hans Kristian Rausing, 56, by name.
The 14-page document, which details how Mr Rausing wanted his remaining British assets to be distributed, was published in Brighton this week.
Empire
Hans Jnr has struggled with drugs in the past. In 2002, he was convicted of leaving the body of his first wife, Eva, to decompose after she died of cocaine poisoning at their home in Belgravia, London.
Mr Rausing became a household name in 1993 when, with his brother Gad, he came top of the Sunday Times rich list, with the Queen in second place.
He had jointly inherited his father Ruben’s business empire, created from “revolutionary” drinks cartons. He sold his stake to Gad for nearly £6billion in 1995 and retired to Wadhurst Park, East Sussex, where he kept an art collection and vintage cars. He died there last year.
His philanthropic gestures included giving more than £1billion to research in medicine, human rights, culture and the environment.
The Rausing empire is now run by Gad’s daughter Kirsten, who last week was named as Britain’s richest woman, with a fortune of £12.1billion.
The figures released by
Brighton probate office show Mr Rausing left total estate of £1,241,686 and net of £1,239,099 after his affairs were settled. The sum excludes property and Swedish assets.
He left his personal computers, records, diaries, letters and emails to his daughter Lisbet, 60, a leading academic.
His other daughter Sigrid, 58, a publisher and magazine editor, gets his penthouse flat in Chelsea, London.
All three of Mr Rausing’s children have been reported to have benefitted from trust funds set up by their father.