Riches to riches ... the dashing Marquess gifts entire £413m fortune to family
...after boosting the cash HE inherited by astonishing £300m!
HE WAS the reluctant aristocrat who famously shunned his noble roots to become a motor racing driver.
Now, more than two years after his death, it has emerged that self-styled ‘modest Marquess’ Johnny Dumfries left more than £400 million in his last will and testament.
Signed off on March 21, 2021, just a day before he died from cancer aged 62, the will details for the first time the true fortune of John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute.
It states that the gross value of his estate – which includes his family seat, Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute – was £413,106,047.
When he inherited one of Scotland’s grandest titles in 1993, after the death of his father, Dumfries was said to be worth £110 million.
Curiously, the 12-page document filed with Swiss law firm Withers, which was made public only last week, was witnessed by his haematologist, Dr Panagiotis Kottaridis, at University College Hospital London’s Macmillan Cancer Centre – and one of the ward’s chefs.
His signature – a barely legible scrawl, evidence of his weakened state – has been underlined and makes clear it is to be his final will, ‘revoking all my former wills’.
His wife, fashion designer Serena Bute, brother Anthony CrichtonStuart, sister Sophia CrichtonStuart and business associate Stephen Hudson Jenkins are listed as the executors. The will states the ‘entirety’ of his estate should be held in a trust for the benefit of his wife and his children, step-children and future generations.
It also details his wish to be cremated after a humanist funeral service and that his ashes ‘be disposed of in such a way as my executors, in consultation with my children, think fit’.
As a poignant tribute, the former Formula 1 driver’s coffin was taken to West London Crematorium on April 12, 2021, in the back of a 1950s Chevrolet pick-up truck, followed by a procession of vintage cars.
Dumfries had three children with his first wife Carolyn Waddell, namely Lady Caroline CrichtonStuart, 38, Lady Cathleen CrichtonStuart, 36, and John Bryson Crichton-Stuart, 33.
After his divorce in 1993, he met Serena Wendell, whom he married in 1999. They had one daughter, Lady Lola Crichton-Stuart, 23.
As his only son and heir, John Crichton-Stuart – who goes by the name Jack Dumfries – became the 8th Marquess of Bute and inherited the family’s Scottish estate.
As well as his children and grandchildren, the will names Dumfries’s step-children, Jasmine and Joshua de Lisser, Serena Bute’s children from her first marriage, and any children they have in the future as ‘beneficiaries’.
Born into one of Scotland’s oldest noble families, Dumfries left his exclusive boarding school early to pursue his hobby of motor racing.
After spells as a painter and decorator and driving the Williams team bus, he tried karting in 1980 before graduating to Formula 3, winning the British Championship in 1984.
He was a test driver for Ferrari when he was given his brief shot at F1 fame with Lotus in 1986, racing alongside teammate Ayrton Senna.
He won the Le Mans 24 Hour in 1988 before retiring from racing in 1991 due to the illness of his father, the 6th Marquess, who died from cancer at the age of 60.
He took over the family estate in 1993 but spoke of being ‘uncomfortable’ with his inherited wealth.
‘I desired above all else to excel at something through my own efforts,’ he said in 1999.
In 2007, put his second ancestral home, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, on the market. It was later bought for £45 million by Prince Charles.
After his death, his family said: ‘The indomitable spirit and energy which Johnny brought to his life will be greatly missed, and the immense warmth and love with which he embraced his family.’