Controversial campaigner Camila Batmanghelidjh had so little money when she died that the amounts left to her loved ones will not be fulfilled.
The Kids Company founder outlined detailed plans for how her material possessions should be distributed before she died aged 61 on January 2 this year.
They included £10,000 to two related people she had ‘looked after’ and £5,000 each to four others who had supported her mother when she was alive.
But the late Camila, who passed away in January 2024 aged 61, left just £21,000 – meaning these bequeathments will not be fulfilled.
She named 14 children and young people who she said should be given ‘fingerless gloves and a scarf, as well as a £200 voucher so they could buy something they liked’.
Camila Batmanghelidjh outlined detailed plans for how her material possessions should be distributed before she died aged 61 on January 2 this year
David Cameron with Camila, the founder of Kids Company, which folded in August 2015
Camila said her brother Babak could keep her London flat for ‘as long as he wants’ but once sold he should give an equal amount of profit to her other brother Ardeshire and their children.
The cash bequeathments were also to have been handed out following the sale of her small flat in a purpose-built art deco block in north London where she had lived for many years.
However probate documents show that while the gross value of Camila’s estate was £350,000, there was just £21,146 left after her debts were paid.
Under probate laws, because her bequests amounted to more than the money she left, they have to be scaled down.
Camila, who was known during her lifetime for her flamboyant and colourful outfits, asked for possessions to be handed out to other children she had worked closely with ‘as a token of my love’.
Instructions over four pages also included who should get possessions such as her ‘favourite rocking chair, four-poster bed, jewellery and even her backgammon set.
While Camila asked that ‘all her kitchen things should be given to a young person who’s been in local authority care and is setting up a home for the first time’.
She also made suggestions for individuals who should receive her ‘favourite tea pot’, ‘favourite desk’, art materials, ‘and a big painting in my bedroom’.
There’s also provision for a ‘viber exercise machine, rugs and cushions, ‘all my felt tips and paper’ and ‘my vacuum cleaner’.
Born in Iran, Camila rose to prominence after launching Kids Company in 1996.
The organisation provided support for young people suffering from abuse, poverty and trauma.
Camila (pictured in 2015) asked for possessions to be handed out to other children she had worked closely with ‘as a token of my love’
The former managing director of the charity died on New Year’s Day following a long illness (pictured: Camila’s funeral at Golders Green Crematorium, north London on January 20)
Born in Iran, Camila rose to prominence after launching Kids Company in 1996
The flamboyant campaigner attracted several celebrity backers JK Rowling, Coldplay, artist Damien Hirst and comedian Michael McIntyre.
She also won the backing of former Prime Minister David Cameron and then London Mayor Boris Johnson and reportedly was able to secure more than £42 million of taxpayers’ cash through government funding.
But in 2015 the charity was forced to close amid financial troubles and allegations of sexual abuse.
It was claimed that money awarded to children was spent on designer clothes, alcohol and drugs and that It was also Camila was paying herself a £90,000 salary at the time the charity closed.
Police found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Camila was dogged by ill health during the last years of her life and is said to have rarely left her flat.
In her will, written in 2018, she admitted that ‘none of my possessions are worth much’ but set out how she would like her estate and possessions to be divided up in intricate detail.
She wrote: ‘I’ve had an absolutely brilliant life made happy because of the love of my family and the opportunity to serve some amazing children and young people, through the charities I founded.
‘Please don’t be sad, instead remember I am now getting to do my favourite thing in the world, which is to fly!
‘So, if you happen to spot a fat bottomed angel in the heavens be sure that it’s me having a good giggle with the spirits!’
Camila won the backing of former Prime Minister David Cameron and then London Mayor Boris Johnson (left) and reportedly was able to secure more than £42 million of taxpayers’ cash through government funding
She appointed brother Babak and former Kids Company clinical director Michael Kerman who she describes as ‘her closest friend’ as ‘executors and trustees’ to ‘decide together how my wealth should be distributed’.
She wrote: ‘Obviously as I can’t predict my wealth at the time of my death, I can’t make decisions about how it should be shared.
‘So, there are a couple of people who know me well and whose judgement I have always trusted. I would like them to make decisions about the distribution of my material possessions.
‘If my brother Babak wants to keep my London flat he should be allowed to do so, for as long as he wants, but if it is sold, he should give an equal amount of the profit from the sale to my other brother Ardeshire or their children.
‘There are four people who have been greatly supportive of my mother when she was alive. I would like them or their offspring to receive 5K each from the potential sale of my flat.’
She offered Deepti Patel, the former child rights head at Kids Company who she described as ‘a trusted and loyal friend’, ‘any of the books she wishes to have from my library’.
Other friends and relatives should be offered books from the library including the people ‘from flat 21 above me’.
Camila asked that Ms Patel help the executors make decisions as to what the children I worked with closely should receive from my possessions, as a token of my love’.
She suggested her two sisters-in-law ‘receive a token of my love either as a book or a piece of jewellery’ while friends should decide ‘what happens to my wardrobe and shoes’.
Giving instructions for her funeral she wrote: ‘Under no condition should anyone wear black!
The social justice campaigner (pictured shaking hands with the then Prince Charles in 1998) went on to receive a CBE for her services to the charity and young people
Camila, founder and director of charity Kids Company, at her London office in 2014
‘Colour is the order of the day. Don’t do miserable music – a couple of good Raps, Tangos and one opera piece will capture the drama of my life more appropriately.
‘I allow my brother to wear his customary navy blazer in acknowledgement of his trend setting classical streak!’
She added: ‘I don’t want to be buried, I’d like to be cremated and the ashes scattered on some water anywhere.’
Camila was born into a professional family of entrepreneurs in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
The family’s affluent lifestyle came to an end in 1979 with the Iranian revolution.
Camila wrote in her will: In the event that our wealth is returned to us in Iran, all decisions about my share of that inheritance should be made by my brother Babak and in his absence my brother Ardeshire.
She concluded the document saying: ‘Cheerio, see you on the other side, not too soon I hope!’
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