Residents of tiny town stunned as secret millionaire leaves his fortune to them
A millionaire who kept his wealth a secret left his fortune to the North Hampshire town.
Waking up to find out you’re a millionaire sounds like a pretty good morning but I'd wager a close second would be to find out you'd been left a multi-million-dollar fortune.
And that's what happened to the citizens of the tiny New Hampshire town Hinsdale, who recently discovered that they'd had a very generous millionaire in their midst for years.
Caretaker Geoffrey Holt died in June earlier this year at the age of 82 and left the townsfolk quite the goodbye.
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He gave his multimillion-dollar fortune to Hinsdale, which is inhabited by an estimated 4,200 people.
And following his death, he'd also left brief instructions on what he wanted done with his money, it was reported.
He wanted his $3.8 million fortune to benefit the community's education, health, recreation and culture.
But how did he get so wealthy?
Well, according to Edwin 'Smokey' Smith, Holt’s best friend and former employer who became the executor of his estate, he'd invested his money - even telling Smith that he was unsure of what to do with the money once his investments became fruitful.
And many residents who had met and seen Holt around town were also very stunned at just how wealthy he was.
While you would be forgiven for thinking that he lived in a lavish home, Holt actually lived in a mobile home park which barely had any furnishing - not even a TV or computer.
Smith said: “He seemed to have what he wanted, but he didn’t want much.
“Geoffrey was an interesting individual, he was very articulate, but he did have some unusual characteristics or different characteristics.
“He was not one to miss work he just showed up and did what he had to but he didn’t want the expense of having a car."
And Holt’s sister, Alison, 81, knew that her brother had invested his money, adding that not wasting money was an important value to their father.
“Geoffrey had a learning disability. He had dyslexia,” she explained.
“He was very smart in certain ways. When it came to writing or spelling, he was a lost cause.
"And my father was a professor.
"So, I think that Geoff felt like he was disappointing my dad. But maybe socking away all that money was a way to compete.”
A town administrator has said that Hinsdale intends to utilize the money very 'frugally', just like Holt did.
However, there has yet to be any formal gatherings to discuss any ideas for the money since local officials were notified in September.
Gerrard Kaonga