Tycoon killed in Sydney seaplane crash left scandal-hit Oxfam £41million after changing his will months before tragedy
A year before the tragic accident he drew up a new will with a 'common tragedy clause' in unlikely event he and his sons were killed together
A TYCOON killed with his family in a seaplane crash changed his will shortly before his death to leave £41million to crisis-hit charity Oxfam.
Richard Cousins, 58, fiancee Emma Bowden, 48, his two sons and her daughter died while on holiday in Australia last New Year’s Eve.
Mr Cousins, the boss of catering giant Compass, had planned to leave most of his wealth in trust for sons William, 25, and Edward, 23.
But a year before the accident in Sydney he drew up a new will, inserting a “common tragedy clause”.
It was to be activated in the seemingly-unlikely event he and his sons were killed together and made Oxfam the main beneficiary.
Now all but £3million of his fortune will go to the charity. Brothers Simon and Andrew both get £1million.
The bequest comes weeks after Oxfam chiefs warned they needed to cut jobs and find £16million in savings.
Oxfam was shaken by revelations staff preyed on sex workers in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.
The scandal led to a temporary funding ban by the Department for International Development.
A source said: “It’s the kind of bequest charities dream of. There will rightly be heavy scrutiny of how the money is spent.”
Mr Cousins, of Hyde Heath, Bucks, was due to retire as CEO of Compass, the world’s biggest catering firm, in March.
He and Emma, OK! magazine’s art editor, had planned to marry in July.
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