Daughter Of Malaysian Tycoon Ditches Over $400 Million Inheritance For Love

Angeline Francis Khoo will do anything for love — including giving up her entire inheritance.

According to Daily Mail, the former heiress to the Laura Ashley fortune had been dating her now-husband, Jedidiah Francis, since their days at Oxford. Francis hails from the Caribbean and currently works at ASOS as the Head of Data Science, while Khoo had been groomed to help run the family business.

When she sought the blessing of her father, wealthy tycoon Dr. Khoo Kay Peng, after the lovebirds had discussed marriage, he reportedly refused and disapproved of the union. Khoo decided to go against her father’s wishes, relinquishing her hefty inheritance in the process.

“Money amplifies negative characteristics and that can cause problems. To walk away from that was actually very easy. I didn’t even consider it,” she said of her decision.

Forbes estimated her net worth to be approximately $407 million in 2015, according to AsiaOne.

Khoo also cut ties with her father in the process, a move that had perhaps been a long time coming after his very public divorce with her mother, Pauline Chai. The elder Khoo had been ordered to pay $84 million to Chai after a five year battle. The younger Khoo had taken her mother’s side during the proceedings, which certainly had to have fostered tension between the father and daughter.

“In these situations with so much money often people are, like, ‘I don’t get it. Why are they fighting over so much?’ But it’s not really about the money, it’s about control and losing that control. That’s something that a lot of people can’t grasp because you’re discussing finances way beyond your basic needs.”

Although the ties have been severed between dad and daughter, Khoo is hopeful that they’ll reconnect one day “in the sense that he can let go of his anger and his hurt and there can at least be some (form of) cordial, warm relationship,” she said.

Khoo and Francis now live together in London, U.K.

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