1510.41 – Alex Watt's Will


Alex Watt, piano maker and friend to man, died in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1849. He left the contents of his vault as follows: half to his devoted wife Millie, one-tenth to his cousin Sam, one-fourth to Stella's great-grandfather Angus, who moved to Amsterdam and married royalty, and the remaining 9090 pounds to the Firth of Forth Bagpipe Band in Edinburgh, of which both he and Sam had been faithful members (Alex piping, Sam on the bass drum). How much did Sam inherit?


Solution

First, 12+14+110=172\dfrac{1}{2} + \dfrac{1}{4} + \dfrac{1}{10} = \dfrac{17}{2}. So 9090 pounds = 320\dfrac{3}{20} of Alex's estate.

The whole estate is, thus, 600600 pounds. Sam gets 110\dfrac{1}{10} which is 6060 pounds.

A pound in 1849 would inflate to about 132 pounds today. So Sam inherited a tidy amount.