Mandela’s Ex-Wife, Winnie Left Out Of Former President’s £2.5m Will

Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has been left out of his will, it has been revealed.
The former South African president has divided up his £2.5million estate between family members, staff and the ruling African National Congress.

However, he has chosen to give nothing to Ms Madikizela-Mandela – his second wife (also known as Winnie), with whom he had two daughters, Zenani and Zindziswa.
Meanwhile, his third wife, Graca Machel, has been named as the main beneficiary of the will because their marriage was ‘in community of property’, according to executor, Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke.

She is therefore entitled to 50 per cent of his estate, which has been provisionally valued at 46 million rand (£2.5million), excluding royalties.
Mandela’s 40-page will – drawn up in 2004, with provisions updated in 2005 and 2008 – was read out in Johannesburg this morning.

The division of his extensive estate was expected to spark squabbling among his 30 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
But it is believed to have been accepted by his family with no contest so far.

As the main beneficiary, Ms Machel must claim her half of the estate within 90 days, said Moseneke, who was joined by executors George Bizos, a human rights lawyer who was a longtime friend of Mandela, and Themba Sangoni, a chief judge from the Eastern Cape province.

He added that although Madikizela-Mandela was not mentioned in the will, her grandchildren will each receive $9,000 (£5,500).

Moseneke said the reading of the will to Mandela’s relatives ‘went well’ – but added ‘There were clarifications sought from time to time’.
The anti-apartheid hero’s wealth is being split between three trusts set up by him, including a trust designed to provide for his family members, he said.

Mandela, a prisoner during white racist rule who became South Africa’s first black president, died on December 5 at the age of 95 – prompting a 10-day mourning period in the nation and a global outpouring of tributes.

He leaves behind an estate that includes an upscale house in Johannesburg and a modest dwelling in his rural Eastern Cape home province.
It also includes royalties from book sales, including Mandela’s autobiography, ‘Long Walk to Freedom’.

More visibly, his legacy involves a potent political and moral brand that some of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren have already used to market everything from clothing to reality TV.

Some of his grandchildren have started a line of caps and sweatshirts that feature his image under the brand ‘Long Walk to Freedom’.
Meanwhile, two of his U.S.-based granddaughters have starred in a reality television show called “Being Mandela”.

Such aggressive marketing – as well as reports of fighting among family members over Mandela’s money – have fuelled the impression in South Africa that some of the family members have exploited their famous relative.