Dame Anita Roddick, RIP.

Doing my usual bloghop today, I was shocked to read that the founder of The Body Shop, Dame Anita Roddick has passed away.

Kim and Tine wrote about it here. When I first found out, my first reaction was, of course, rest in peace. And then I remembered a post that I wrote less than two years ago in 2005. This was the time when there were wide spread news on the founder of Body Shop giving away her entire 51 million pound fortune.

An extract of the news (can't remember which source):-

Dame Anita Roddick, the founder of The Body Shop and one of the UK's best-known businesswomen, has decided to turn her back on the world of commerce and give away her £51m fortune.

She said: "I am going to start giving it away. I hope that before I die there will be a financial foundation. All my wealth is in the shares. My intention is to give my money away.
"I don't want to die rich. Money does not mean anything to me. The worst thing is greed - the accumulation of money. I don't know why people who are extraordinarily wealthy are not more generous."

And of course, when people started pounding her door for money, this was her reply to the world:-

I’d like to set the record straight, as I have been inundated with requests for support from all around the world this week, in light of the recent press about me giving my money away. I will be giving my money away – that’s a fact – but not at the moment. I’ve always said that I don’t want to die rich - it’s mentioned in my book ’Business As Unusual’ – first published in 2000.

Please give me a break – I’m not dead yet!

Ok, I know this may not seem very appropriate at the moment, but will she be giving her money away now that she's no longer around? Who will be the lucky, lucky receipient, if what she said is true?

If I haven't mistaken, the late Dame Anita Roddick left behind two daughters. Will they get part of the 51 million pound (2005 figure)?

Just curious.