How Is the Cat That Inherited Karl Lagerfeld’s $210 Million Estate Doing Now?
As we all know, Choupette was originally the cat of Karl Lagerfeld’s friend, model Baptiste Giabiconi. Baptiste asked Lagerfeld to take care of her for a few days while he was away. Lagerfeld was initially reluctant, but later thought the cat should be self-sufficient and reluctantly agreed. However, when Baptiste returned, Choupette had already won Lagerfeld’s heart—and Lagerfeld flatly refused to give her back. From then on, Choupette began her luxurious life.
She has two full-time caregivers. She wakes up at 6 a.m. every day, and after waking up, someone grooms her, massages her, cleans her eyes, and more. She also has a bodyguard and a personal feline health consultant. Every day, a chef prepares four different kinds of food for her, served in silver Goyard tableware. Occasionally, she even gets a small portion of top-grade caviar. Her room is equipped with an independent sound system for listening to music in her spare time, and even her travel cat bed is a custom Louis Vuitton version.
Lagerfeld also designed a series of fashion products inspired by her, named “Choupette in Love.” The Chanel brand even launched a collection of high-end women’s clothing inspired by her eyes.
Choupette is also a “jet-setting cat,” traveling around the world with Lagerfeld on private jets. She became a legendary cat on social media, with her own Instagram and Twitter accounts managed by special staff. From time to time, Lagerfeld would feature Choupette in his appearances, and the little one thus became an internet celebrity. Her every move around the world has won her 120,000 followers on Instagram.
In addition, Choupette is a “millionaire cat.” In 2014, she appeared in two advertising campaigns—one for a car brand and another for a beauty product—earning $3 million (approximately 20.26 million RMB) in the process.
After Lagerfeld’s passing, who would inherit his estate became the focus of media attention. He had no children, only a cat. According to French TV news network reports, Lagerfeld had publicly stated several times during his lifetime that he wanted to leave his estate to Choupette. However, under French law, animals cannot be heirs. Therefore, some media speculated that Lagerfeld may have donated all or part of his estate to his longtime housekeeper, Françoise Caôte, to take care of Choupette on his behalf, ensuring her a worry-free feline life.
Today, Choupette still lives a life of luxury. Françoise Caôte has continued the same arrangements Lagerfeld had for her: two assistants, one bodyguard, one personal chef, and the top veterinarians in France as her private medical consultants. She occasionally looks at the sky from the swimming pool, sunbathes in the mansion, uses custom cat scratchers, and travels on private jets. Although the fashion icon Lagerfeld is gone, Choupette’s quality of life remains wonderful—she is still that “little princess” with an extraordinary lifestyle. Her housekeeper often live-streams to update fans on the “little princess’s” living conditions.
