German Community Inherits $7.5 Million From Elderly Neighbor

A lucky community in central Germany received a huge surprise following the death of one of their elderly residents. Renate Wedel left a whopping €6.2 million in assets, about $7.5 million, to her neighbors, according to CNN. 

The 81-year-old passed in December of 2019, and likely had no idea that her funds could become a critical gift during a worldwide pandemic that has crippled the global economy. She bequeathed her bank assets, including property, shares, and valuables, to the district made up of six German villages. 

Local authorities were stunned when they saw the balance of the inheritance. “I thought at first, this is simply not possible, I thought a comma had slipped, something is not quite right,” local mayor Bernd Heine told German publication Hessenschau.

Wedel reportedly inherited her wealth from her husband Alfred, an active stock investor, who died back in 2014. The two had lived in the Weiperfelden district of Waldsolms in central Germany since 1975. Renate passed after living in a nursing care facility since 2016. Weiperfelden is now required to use the inheritance for “community facilities and infrastructure.”

“The community of Waldsolms posthumously thanks the Wedel couple for this important inheritance,” the community said in a statement. “We will deal with it very responsibly, develop our community for the good of all and keep an honorable memory of both.”