Anne Robinson has said she has given her £50 million fortune away to her family to avoid inheritance tax.
The television presenter, 79, said she has “spread” her wealth now to save her relatives from paying a duty upon her death.
“I’ve given it all away. I don’t want the taxman to have it. I’ve spread it about quite a lot, to the children. They may as well enjoy it now,” the former Weakest Link presenter told Saga magazine.
Robinson has a daughter Emma Wilson, 43, and two grandchildren, Hudson, 14, and Parker, 13.
Inheritance tax is charged on the part of an individual’s estate above the tax-free threshold, which is £325,000. That can rise to £500,000 if a home is given to a child or grandchild.
The current inheritance tax rate is 40 per cent. Abolishing the tax would leave an £8 billion a year hole in the Treasury finances.
The Telegraph has been campaigning for the abolition of inheritance tax.
‘Good health and family happiness’
Robinson claimed to have “no idea” how much she is worth but conceded she doesn’t “want for much”.
“I can’t think there’s anything I really want except my good health and the family happiness,” she said.
The presenter lives in an 18th century Grade II-listed barn conversion in the Cotswolds. She also owns two homes in New York, one in Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and another in The Hamptons.
Robinson recently revealed she is in a relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles, the Queen’s ex-husband.
Asked whether she was dating the former Household Cavalry officer, who was married to the Queen for 22 years, she said: “Yes. Full stop. Mind your own business.”
She then elaborated on her return to dating in her 70s after a 17 year hiatus, telling Saga magazine: “I’m a great believer in surprising yourself by taking risks. Personally and professionally. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If the worst that can happen is you get some egg on your face, that’s not terrible is it?”