The world's richest (and most chic) cat

Since the passing of Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld last year, his Birman cat Choupette has been thrust further into the spotlight as the lucky receiver of the majority of his fortune. Karl’s obsession with Choupette saw him juggle his extraordinary schedule to photograph her at least 50 times a day, indulging her with Japanese beef prepared by a former Parisian Nobu chef and whilst absent, his maid was to care for her. managing her daily preening and upkeep.

Following his death from pancreatic cancer, Choupette continues to uphold her chic life, and was once labelled by Karl as his “heiress”. It has since between reported that Choupette inherited an estimated US$195 million of his $300 million fortune.

He further claimed that he would marry Choupette, and was considered a full time job, had a nanny employed to care for her whilst Karl managed the powerful fashion house. She is a star in her own right, reportedly earning US$3 million from modelling jobs in 2015 alone, and boasting 235, 000 followers on Instagram in 2019.

Since Choupette was born on August 15 2011, and originally belonged to French model Baptiste Giabiconi. Choupette was an appropriate name given it is a common phrase for “cute girls” in French. Karl was later asked to cat sit during a stint in Marseille for Christmas, to which he was hesitant due to the fur! However upon Karl’s return to Paris, he became angry and would no longer speak to Baptiste. It soon became obvious that it was Choupette that brought him joy. He decided to visit Karl.

Baptiste made the decision to gift Karl the kitten, to which he responded that “she has brought sunshine to my life”.

With a profile and portfolio like Choupette, it is no surprise she has an agent. Following her feature in Chanel campaigns and a new colour deemed “Choupette blue”, it was obvious the feline then required an entourage. She had two minders, a doctor, a chef and a bodyguard; she obviously only flew on private jets also. Karl had a Louis Vuitton carrier bag designed for her to travel in, and Goyard designed silver plates and brushes.

Karl was obsessed with Choupette; he would watch her for hours. So much so, that the head of Steidl Verlag, Gerhard Steidl announced that the cat has her own bank account following Karl’s death.

With boasting such a high profile, naturally she needed an agent to manage her working life. Choupette has been assigned to agent Lucas Berullier of My Pet Agency in Paris, which she will attend on occasion to update her portfolio. But what Choupette is currently up to in life remains a mystery. Perhaps she has semi-retired to a life of luxury along the French riviera, or dipped into her funds to invest in some property.

After all, “she is a business”.