Gambler continues to give to charity from the grave

A man from Southern England who died last year at 69 is continuing to support the international charity Oxfam from the grave as he left the charity a series of outstanding bets in his will.

When Nick Newlife, a bachelor from the village of Tackley (which is 11 miles north of the city of Oxford) died last year he left everything he owned to Oxfam. Founded in 1942 in the city close to which Mr Newlife lived, Oxfam - an acronym formed from the name Oxford Committee for Famine Relief - is now an international aid agency/charity with its largest office still the one based in the U.K. That office could receive as much as £339,240 ($508,860) by 2020, possibly earlier, if the bets left to it by landlord Nick Newlife prove to be successful, according to The Sun Details of the bets that may still come good are available at the Daily Mail. The report also confirms that a £250 ($375) bet, at odds of 66/1, on Swiss tennis star Roger Federer winning 14 grand slam titles before 2020 netted Oxfam £16,750 ($25,125) when Federer won his 14th title at the French Open in 2009. In total Mr Newlife put down £4,420 ($6,630) on bets he hoped would help make the world a better place long after he himself had departed it. The Sun notes that in current day terms the £339,240 ($508,860) Oxfam could eventually receive as a result of Mr Newlife's sporting knowledge and generosity would purchase "emergency rations for 46,000 people, safe water for 350,000, or 12,800 goats". Christian Today - there is no indication that Mr Newlife's desire to raise money for Oxfam is linked to religious beliefs he held when he was alive - quotes Cathy Ferrier, Fundraising and Supporter Marketing Director at Oxfam, as saying of Mr Newlife's generosity:

We’re enormously grateful to Mr Newlife for his generous gift, and will be keeping a close eye on Wimbledon this year as a result.

Legacies amount to 10 per cent of our total income from individuals, so they’re essential to us, and as this case proves they can come in all shapes and sizes. It is very easy to make a will and including Oxfam could leave a lasting legacy for those most in need.

Every time someone leaves us a gift in their will, whether that’s a few pounds or a few thousands pounds, it helps us make a huge difference to thousands of lives around the world. For example, £500 could provide twenty basics latrines, such as those sent by Oxfam after the Haiti earthquake, and £3,700 could equip an entire special needs school with teaching and learning aids

For William Hill, the bookmaker that accepted Mr Newlife's bets and one of the largest bookmakers in the U.K., spokesman Graham Sharpe said:

Mr Newlife was clearly a very shrewd sporting gambler whose early identification of potential superstars won tens of thousands of pounds for himself while he was still alive.

But to ensure that a respected charity would benefit from any bets which came to fruition after his death makes him unprecedented in my 30 year experience of the betting industry.

Roger Federer is already 6/4 hot favourite to win this summer's Wimbledon and I fully expect to be handing over a six figure cheque to Oxfam when he does so

Each year Oxfam is said to receive in excess of £10 million ($15 million) as a result of 600 legacies. In the past Oxfam has been the recipient of other unusual legacies that include a pair of gold teeth and a dentist's chair from a former dentist, a letter written by the famous nurse Florence Nightingale and royalties from books and plays.