Viral: Dead Father's Old Passbook Makes Son A Millionaire Overnight Here's What He Found

(MENAFN- Live Mint) In an expected change of fate, a Chilean man became a millionaire overnight, thanks to his dead father's 60-year-old bank passbook.

Ten years after his father's death, Exequiel Hinojosa was sifting through his late father's belongings when he found a six-decade-old bank passbook, changing his fortune forever.

Reuters first reported the story in 2022, and it has now gone viral again.

In 1960-70, Exequiel's father saved money to buy a house. According to the viral picture of the passbook and several media reports, the old man had saved ₹1.4 lakh, which he never used.

With an interest of 6 decades and inflation adjustment, Exequiel received a whopping $1.2 million ( ₹10 crore).

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Nobody in the family knew of his father's particular bank account and savings.

The passbook remained put in a box for 10 years after his father's death until Exequiel stumbled upon it while cleaning the house.

Exequiel decided to withdraw his father's savings, only to discover that his father's bank had shut down long ago.

In a general scenario it would have meant that the passbook was useless, and the money gone.

However, the passbook Exequiel found had a crucial detail: a stamp saying,“State Guaranteed”. This promise indicated that the government would take control if the bank couldn't make payments.

However, the Chilean government initially refused to honour the commitment.

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Exequiel then fought a long legal battle to settle it with the state.

“That money is our family's. He saved it by working really hard,” he said, adding that the family didn't even know the passbook existed until they found it.

“I never thought this process would turn into a kind of lawsuit towards the state,” Exequiel added.

But Exequiel's journey to becoming a millionaire wasn't easy; despite multiple court rulings in his favour, the government appealed at every step – leading the legal battle to the country's top court.

He argued that the funds represented his father's hard-earned savings, which were assured by the government's commitment.

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“If the justice system, the supreme court, the court of appeals rule in my favour, all that's left to fix the problem is paying what is due, nothing more, nothing less,” Exequiel said.

Finally, in 2022, the Chile Supreme Court ruled in his favour, compelling the government to compensate him 1 billion Chilean Pesos (approximately ₹10 crore), along with accrued interest and allowances.

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