Athens - The American car heiress, Ms Helena Ford, has no claim on the estate of her estranged father, shipping tycoon Mr Stavros Niarchos, an Athens court has ruled. In a ruling at the weekend, the court said Ms Ford, who was claiming 10 per cent of her father's vast estate, had no inheritance rights because her parents' 1965 marriage was annulled in Greece at Mr Niarchos's request.
"Children of annulled civil marriages are legitimate but have no rights to their parents' inheritance," the ruling stated. Mr Niarchos, who died last year in Switzerland, left a fortune estimated at about $2.5 billion to the four children he had with Ms Eugenia Livanos, and to other relatives and friends. Ms Ford was not mentioned in his will.