The world's 10 richest pets and pampered pooches

It is the search that is gripping the US nation: which pooch will president-elect Barack Obama choose to be the White House puppy?

A pampered life awaits the dog that gets the nod, what with the run of the 132-room White House and its spacious gardens. Then there's the presidential jet Air Force One to look forward to. A trip to the countryside will never be the same again.

Not that life is going to be easy, what with all those photo shoots and life lived in the public eye. Nothing less than a shiny coat and perfect teeth will do. The press can be so cruel on those bad hair days. And "cavorting" with other canines will definitely be out.

But let's not play down the job's advantages. Mr Obama says that he is ideally looking for a mutt from a shelter home: a rags to riches story that sums up the American dream.

However, it won't be the first pet to embark on a life of luxury and excess. Here are some of the richest animals ever to have walked this earth.

1. Gunther IV - Germen Shepherd

Worth: £90 million

German Countess Karlotta Liebenstein left a staggering fortune of 139 million German marks (about £43 million) to her beloved pet dog Gunther III when she died in 1991. When Gunter III died, the fortune passed to his offspring – imaginatively named Gunther IV – who used it, through a mysterious group of human beings, to, among other things, buy Madonna’s eight-bedroom villa in Miami. Gunther’s property portfolio is also said to include estates in the Bahamas, Italy and Germany and is estimated to be worth £90 million.

A website dedicated to the pampered Alsatian shows him living the Playboy mansion lifestyle. There are photos of Gunther splashing around in swimming pools while bikini-clad women and bronzed muscle men look on adoringly. Read the accompanying text and it gets even weirder. These “five gifted youngsters” it informs you are the Burgundians, the “most talented among a selected group of boys and girls of international origin endowed with special features, beauty, intelligence and independence”.

You couldn't make it up, or maybe you could. Some cynics have questioned whether it is all just an elaborate hoax. Make your own mind up by taking a look at Gunther's website

2. Toby Rimes - Poodle

Worth: £45 million

Toby Rimes, worth the equivalent of £45m in dollars, is a descendant of a pooch left £15m in New York in 1931.

3. Kalu - Chimpanzee

Worth: £42.5 million

Kalu, a chimpanzee, was adopted by Patricia O’Neill, daughter of the Countess of Kenmore, after she found her tied to a tree in Zaire. On her death Mrs O'Neill stunned her husband, the former Australian swimming champion Frank, by leaving her entire estate near Cape Town, South Africa, to Kalu. She said she couldn’t bear the thought of what might happen to the chimp after she died. All together now- Awwwww.

4. Pepe le Pew, Ani and Frankie – Two cats and a Chihuahua

Worth: £18 million

Chihuahua Frankie and cats Ani and Pepe Le Pew each had a third of a San Diego mansion worth around £10 million left to them. The reclusive millionairess who granted them the house also left £8.1million in cash for the three to share. I wonder what they've spent it on - Tuna sachets and dog bones?

5. Flossie – Labrodor mix

Worth: £3 million

Drew Barrymore, the actor (above), placed a £3 million Beverly Hills mansion in trust for her dog, Flossie, in 2002 after it woke up her and husband, Tom Green, in time to escape from a house fire. As the blaze caught hold in the early hours of the morning, Drew's faithful dog ran upstairs and banged on their bedroom door with its tail to alert them to the danger.

6. Trouble - Maltese Terrier

Worth: £1.1million

New York hotel magnate Leona Helmsley, dubbed the "Queen of Mean" during a 1989 trial for tax evasion, left $12 million of her estimated $8 billion estate for the upkeep of her Maltese terrier Trouble. Two of her four grandchildren meanwhile got nothing. Unsurprisingly, the request by Helmsley, famous for her quip that "only the little people pay taxes," sparked nothing but trouble. After the will was contested, the pooch, who was spoon fed gourmet foods by maids, was stripped of $10 million by a Manhattan judge. Fortunately the $2 million left is enough to keep Trouble in the lap of luxury. The mutt's annual expenses come in at $190,000, including $100,000 for round-the-clock security, $60,000 for his guardianship fee, $8,000 for grooming and $1,200 for food.

7. Tinker - Cat

Worth: £450,000

Tinker, an eight-year-old cat from North London, inherited a £450,000 fortune after Margaret Layne, an elderly widow who found him as a stray, left him a three-bedroom house in Harrow and a £100,000 trust fund. Her will makes clear that the black cat, aged about eight, should not stray again. "If Tinker abandons the property permanently the trustees shall at their discretion be entitled to bring the trust to an end," says the will.

8. Tina and Kate - Collie crosses

Worth: £450,000

Tina and Kate, owned by Nora Hardwell, were left £450,000, the run of their owner’s home and five acres in Peasedown, St John, near Bath. The will also demanded that a carer must be employed to look after the two dogs, and that the house must be kept clean at all times.

9. Silverstone - tortoise - and friends

Worth: £100,000 plus

Silverstone the tortoise and a number of cats were provided for from the £59million estate of Christina Foyle, the late owner of Foyle's bookshop in London. When she died in 1999 Ms Foyle left the cats a house in Essex and £100,000 to her handyman to look after the tortoise.

10. The Queen Mum's collection of livestock

Worth: £8,000 each

150 Aberdeen Angus cattle and 200 North Country Cheviot sheep were the beneficiaries of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's will. She left a £3 million trust to protect the herds on the Castle of Mey Farm which is shared with a collection of goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits and two lovebirds. Each is worth about £8,000. Good on you, ma'am.

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Comments

[Michal]

This is SICK!!

I have been to Rwanda and Burundi recently. Lots of poverty and missed opportunity. Not far away in Kongo people are being raped and killed in thousands. People like me or YOU!

At the same time sick, spoiled, stupid %@!^es give their millions to a *%&*(ng Chihuahua.

[Owain]

I'm a vegetarian and support animal rights and th e rights of animals to own property . Animals and humans are qll creatuers of this world and are created equal

[l]

APPAULING!! DISGUSTING!! SICK!!
JUST LIKE THE REST OF THE ABSOLUTE CRAP WE HEAR EVERY DAY WHEN MILLIONS STARVE IN THIS GREEDY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM INFURIATED AND MY DAY HAS JUST BEEN RUINED!!!!!!

[Darin Reed]

Yes, PETA is that bad. They're freaks. They think rodents are equal to children. They think rodents are equal to dogs. They think fleas and ticks are equal to dolphins. They think all animals are EQUAL. (Actually, they pretty much hate one animal: People).

[Pedersen]

Pets are property. Property cannot inherit property. Nor can pets bequest money onto others. Animals have zero concept of money; it's meaningless to the animal to leave it a fortune. Those pet owners have lost their minds. And if Obama's dog search is "gripping the nation", no wonder this country is circling the drain. How trivial to care what dog Obama gets! We've turned into a country of dog-obsessed morons!

[Earlgreytea]

Why ? is Peta that bad ??

[Flu-Bird]

Keep them away from PETA or kiss them all goodbye DONT EVER LET PETA ADOPT ANY ANIMALS AT ALL

[Nikki]

People get disillusioned in life and often money is always involved. Most of the time people are not genuine. Animals you know where you stand. They either love you or eat you!

[Joe]

One of the photos on Gunther's website shows Gunther walked with a choke collar. Every caretaker knows chest harnesses are more civilized. Goes to show the dog's trust fund is put to good use.

[Meat Eater]

Weirdest comments I've seen online in a while. Whatever floats your boat, guys.

[Victor]

srtrstsfs

[Felicia]

man, these pets r rich! and who is "mr. animal" huh? and ppl dont put these long paragraphs, no one reads them dummys! ....retards...

[Max]

Any idea on how much in damages these guys will pay if they bite or scratch you ?

[Felix]

No doubt we live in a sick world based on comments placing the importance of animals above humans. Note, some of these rich people possibly died from diseases that with funds to research would have been curable. It is also possible some of the contributors here will fall victim to diseases like that.

[Mrs Animal]

Hullo Mr Animal!! How you do? We have an interst in common. Please contact me for fun and chat.

[No Bull]

Shut up, Adam. You can't even spell the first word of your comment.

[shingy]

i have a snake how much is that worth? his name is slippy coz he slips a lot

[shingy]

i have snake

[Nina]

Brillaint - why do we want to dictate to others what to do with their money. If you have any money to leave to another when you die leave it to those you love most and who return that love. Love from a human is attached to so many conditions!

[Adam]

Hoe predictable: the usual "but HUMAN problems are more important!" babble from Anthony. The same tired rhetoric is prevalent on any article about pets, wildlife or environmental protection.

Starving children are also more important than plasma TV's, cars, holidays to Disney World and PlayStation 3 games, but no doubt most average people allow themselves those indulgences.

I personally think spending extravagantly on another living creature is more commendable than spending on yourself. And since I respect capitalism and individuality, those people have every right to spend their money how they see fit.

[Paul McCann]

Don't care about orphans or starvings kids particularly, you can only really look after those close to you.

Good on these people for acting responsibly towards their charges. To all those who disagree, sell up and give your money and belonging to charity, no, don't fancy it, didn't think so. If you want to have lots of money to give to orphans or find a cure for cancer, go out and earn it, don't pontificate on what others should do.

[virginia]

I love animals but i think that the money could be given to charity and spreading of the Gospel so that everyone can have eternal life. Feed the hungry, clothed the naked, look after the orphans and the widows. We live in a selfish world!

[Np]

There's some uncivilised comments here. People try to live in a civilised world, whilst others want to drag everything down to the lowest common denominator.
If I live in a country where pets are pampered, chances are my standards of living will be good.
If children die of preventable diseases, maybe those countries should get off their fat backsides and work towards improving their prosperity. Our prosperity was not given to us on a plate.

[No Bull]

"Mr Animal" (above) should take his filth elsewhere.

[King Kat]

Come the revolution these pets will be first back on pedigree supermeat.

[julie.]

why did I think of calling my dog pepe le pew? hilarious...

[Chris]

This cannot be serious.

[Mike Adams]

Do pets have to pat taxes?
This just shows what a sick, sick world we live in!

[Nabil Zakher]

Our beautiful cat Kasper is looking for arich wife.All offers will be considered.This should help our family cope with the recession ae well.!!!!

[Anthony]

How often does a child die on this planet by preventable diseases?

Humans are morons.

[Mr Animal]

hello pleas! i love animals and love also the list! Dog si rich!! Gunter handsom boy