The wife of multi-millionaire Titan sub disaster victim Shahzada Dawood was left less than £100,000 after it was discovered he did not have a valid UK will. Father Mr Dawood perished in the OceanGate disaster in June 2023 when the submersible imploded during a voyage to the Titanic wreckage in the North Atlantic. The 48-year-old had been with his 19-year-old son, Suleman, as well as three other men, with everyone on board killed.
One of the richest men in Pakistan with strong links to the UK, Mr Dawood was sitting on a £1.3billion a year business empire at the time of his tragic death. His net worth at the time was reported to have been £285million. Despite the family's enormous wealth, Shahzada's widow Christine was left with a fraction of the sum, according to documents. Mrs Dawood, a life coach who lived with her husband, Suleman, and their other daughter Alina in a Surrey mansion, was issued his UK estate of £76,958 after Shahzada died without a valid UK will.
A Grant of Letters of Administration was issued to the estate's administrator, usually a spouse or nearest blood relative, during the ongoing legal affairs following his death, Daily Mail reports. The will listed Shahzada's main residence as being in Pakistan, meaning most of his fortune remained outside the UK.
The Titan sub disaster made international headlines when communication with it was lost while on its voyage on June 18, 2023. On board had been OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, and French diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77.
