Granddaughter wants share of Einstein estate profits

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Albert Einstein made many contributions to modern science, but it's the videos, bobblehead dolls and Halloween masks using his image that continue to generate millions of dollars long after his death.

But his granddaughter, Evelyn, said she hasn't received a dime from the marketing and sales of Einstein merchandise, while others have profited.

"I'm outraged," said the younger Einstein, who says she is a 69-year-old cancer survivor and needs the money for health care. "It's hard for me to believe they would treat the family the way they have, which has been abysmally."

Her grandfather, the German-born physicist who formulated the general theory of relativity, bequeathed the literary rights for the more than 75,000 papers and other items in his estate to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem when he died in 1955.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/10/california.einstein.granddaughter/index.html

[rfranklin]

1. Honey, your grandpa was the dopey one...

Blame him.

[naaman fletcher]

2. It's not your money or image

It was his, and he left it to Hebrew University, not to you. STFU.

[roguevalley]

10. he treated his kids and wife like shit. they deserve to have a part of

something of his. he was selfish and cold and indifferent to them. Cough up the dough. It would be justice. and the ones who say otherwise need to check it out before knee jerking.

[naaman fletcher]

11. "deserve"

They don't "deserve" anything. So maybe he was a dick. Too bad. It's not their money.

[Darth_Kitten]

20. Actually if fathers fail their children, then yes, children deserve something out of the fact.

n/t

[boppers]

17. How much have you read up?

Seriously, how much?

Here's a hint: This woman is not related in any genetic way whatsoever to Albert Einstein.

She was adopted by Hans 22 years after Albert and Mileva had divorced (and before you give Mileva a pass, check out how she treated Lieserl).

Oh, and Einstien gave away his Nobel award money to Mileva (*after* the divorce), to take care of the kids, which was then squandered on 3 houses, and he later set up regular payments (after she lost two of the houses) for taking care of Hans and Eduard and Mileva.

[truthisfreedom]

3. Nothing is stopping her from selling these items herself. She should have official Einstein products

to sell on a website. I'm sure she could make something. Someone should contact her about manufacturing such things. Her name is worth something.

[AlbertCat]

4. She's gonna have to wait til her face is on a bobble head.

Sheesh! She thinks she owns her grandfather's likeness???

Imagine what the relatives of Mona Lisa could get! Or George Washington! All those dollar bills! (I suppose the Washington family would have to split it with Gilbert Stuart's relatives.)

[RedCloud]

5. You shine two beams of light in opposite directions...

How fast do they separate from one another?

That's right Einstein! Twice the speed of light. How's that for your nothing faster than the speed of light relative?

Better cash in before someone continues in the vein of thought.

[Towlie]

6. You don't understand relativity, but I'm sure Bill O'Reilly could explain it to you.

[RedCloud]

7. You don't understand the folly of using perfect math for an imperfect universe.

Life at a single point of origin on our planet? Couldn't happen elsewhere too?

One sperm meets the egg?

Whole universe fits in a nice neat hole?

Barely out of their cave humans presume omniscience?

[boppers]

18. imperfect universe? What an odd concept, especially if defining "imperfect".

Your examples generally point more to imperfect understanding of the universe, not a universe where "perfect math" does not apply.

You last statement, however, encapsulates the state of the problem quite well:
"Barely out of their cave humans presume omniscience?"

Perfect math, as an ideal, can hypothetically exist. However, we are still working on it, and already know that there are some very, very, difficult boundaries to "what we can understand"... with our current systems of understanding.

See: http://tinyurl.com/2eb9nq

...for an academic entrance into the problem in a mathematical and philosophical sense.

[girl gone mad]

8. Grandpa wasn't much of a family man.

Sorry, Evelyn. He couldn't get away from his parental responsibilities fast enough and he never really looked back. There's no one to blame for your current position on the outside of his fortune but him.

[Major Hogwash]

9. This is sad. She should receive some kind of stipend for her grandpa to be sold like that.

Look at how many other famous personalities were made rich off of their works, and yet they didn't help us as much as her grandpa did.
Just a sad situation.

I didn't know his granddaughter was still alive.
The state she lives in should give her some help with her health care.
Maybe one of the representatives in her state can propose such a bill to provide for some relief.

[Dogmudgeon]

12. Injustice stories really bring out the Freepers

The "Tough Shit" brigade is out in force tonight, letting everyone know that the world is a mean place, and they're doing their part to make it just a little meaner.

--d!

[Democat]

15. Everyone wants something for free!

Somehow if we don't agree that a random person deserves free money for nothing, then we're all Freepers?

[saras]

13. The article is incomplete

It's not clear from the article that he in fact gave the right to use his likeness to the university. The school says he did, but the article didn't follow through.

[Democat]

14. Why does she think she has a right to anything?

What did she do to deserve it?

[tammywammy]

16. It's sad she's having money issues, but if her grandfather wanted to leave her something

he would have. That's the way wills work, he left everything to the university.

I looked around. She sued her nephew and there was a settlement over some letters that were in a trust back in 1995/6.
http://articles.latimes.com/1996-12-06/news/mn-6314_1_albert-einstein

[JI7]

she doesn't deserve anything more than anyone else who is struggling to pay for health care

and other needs.

[TBF]

21. Health care and other needs -

which brings up a great point. After all the he said/she said, and assertions that "no one owes anyone anything" by the freepers (and pseudo-freepers), there is a point at which we discuss lack of affordable health care in this country. It probably won't be in this trainwreck of a thread, but it's a discussion worth having.

[JI7]

19. she doesn't deserve anything more than anyone else who is struggling to pay for health care

and other needs.

[Javaman]

22. What's the real story here?

she has cancer and crappy health care and is trying to find a way, a very thin way, to save her own life.

National health care now.