(2017年12月23日)美國夏威夷一名泰美混血兒自幼喪父和母親相依為命,母親為了治療患癌的丈夫也耗盡家財,父親病逝後也沒錢舉辦葬禮。
兩母女一度窮得身上只剩下100美元(約408令吉),直到今年初收到一封遺產信,翻轉他們的未來,原來已故祖母留下了10億美元(約40.8億令吉)的巨額遺產,令他們在一夜間暴富。
現年22歲的埃麗卡(Erica Jasmine Baldwin Gibson)與泰籍母親巴岡,本周受訪時披露她們的故事。來自素攀府的巴岡原在曼谷髮廊工作,遇到埃麗卡的父親吉布森後結婚並在夏威夷定居,惟好景不常,吉布森罹患肝癌,3年時間花了大筆的醫療費抗癌,但最終於2000年,即埃麗卡5歲的時候病逝。
母親巴岡連父親的喪葬費都拿不出來,幸好祖母德克斯特拉(Dextra Baldwin)曾寄錢幫忙他們母女倆,但是此後雙方也沒有再連繫,她們對祖母的瞭解少之又少。
由於埃麗卡家中的經濟狀況十分潦倒,需靠教堂的接濟勉強過活,後來靠著用政府的救濟金進口泰國木雕而開始慢慢改善,母親也開了泰國菜餐廳,高中畢業的艾瑞卡,放棄升學留在餐廳幫忙生意。
埃麗卡今年初突然接到通知,原來祖母德克斯特拉已在2010年去世,並留下10億美元(約40.8億令吉)的遺產給她。
對於突如其來的遺產,埃麗卡很感動祖母心中還有她,然而她並不打算完全依靠這筆錢過活,「餐廳依舊會繼續營運,我們都很喜歡從前這樣的生活,我的第一步是要重返校園,我不想放棄學習」。
由於母親為她犧牲的實在是太多了,她希望可以讓母親好好休息。母親巴岡也表示:「我很想念我的丈夫,我想念他做過那些偉大的事,回到泰國後,我也希望可以為我的國家做些偉大的事。」
在本周她們向泰國福利中心捐贈了10萬泰銖(約1萬2430令吉)的善款,以用於照顧孤兒。
Young Thai-American surprised with billion-dollar fortune from deceased Californian grandmaErica Jasmine Baldwin Gibson, 22, was surprised with a letter that her deceased grandmother left her $US1 billion dollar in bonds and stocks Screenshot: Thairath TV
Thai-American woman Erica Jasmine Baldwin Gibson never knew about her deceased American father’s family fortune, until she was surprised with a letter earlier this year that her Californian grandmother left her $US1 billion dollar (THB32 billion) in bonds and stocks from the family’s oil company when she passed away.
In a story that came to light in Thai media this week, 22-year-old Erica and her mother, Prakong, told their life stories, from how they were left with roughly $US100 (THB3,200) after Erica’s father died of liver cancer to how they came into the fortune.
Erica and her mother Prakong. Screenshot: Thairath TV
Prakong, a 57-year-old from Suphanburi, said she met her deceased husband, Kendrick Baldwin Gibson, when she worked at a salon in Bangkok’s Sutthisan area decades ago. The American proposed and brought her to the U.S. to live in Hawaii, where they had Erica.
An old portrait of Prakong. Screenshot: Thairath TV
After her husband passed away in 2000, Prakong and her daughter struggled to get by. Little was known about her husband’s mother Dextra, except when she helped pay for Kendrick’s funeral, Thairath reported.
「During the three years that my husband received [cancer] treatment, we spent a lot of money. By the time he passed, I barely had money to host his funeral. His mother sent me the money for the funeral, but after that, I decided to support myself,」 Prakong said.
Prakong thought it was not American culture to ask for support from her deceased husband’s family.
A photo of Dextra Baldwin Gibson and baby Erica. Screenshot: Thairath
Left with $US100, Prakong had to get food from the church to feed her daughter. Then she filed for help and received US$2,000 (THB65,000) from the U.S. government, which she spent on importing wood carved products from Thailand to sell. After she got back on her feet, she opened a Thai restaurant in Kauai, Hawaii.
After Erica finished high school, she decided not to go to college to help her mother manage their restaurant.
This year, she got a letter from the family’s lawyer to inform them that her grandmother, Dextra Baldwin Gibson, who passed away in 2010, left her an enormous fortune.
When asked how she felt, Erica simply said, 「My grandmother still thought of me.」
「We still continued to run our restaurant and didn』t rely on that money. We already liked what we had. We didn』t want to change,」 she told Thairath TV.
But their luck didn』t stop at a billion dollars. Prakong also found out that two plots of land her mother owns in Kanchanaburi province had mineral water under them. The mother and daughter are now in Thailand to start a mineral water business.
Aside from that, they also spent their time in Thailand doing charity. This week, they donated THB100,000 to the Phaya Thai Welfare Center, which takes care of orphaned babies.
Prakong said, 「I miss him [my husband]. I miss the great things he』d done. Coming back to Thailand, I』d also like to do great things for the country.」
Now left with a fortune, Erica is pressuring her mother to close their restaurant in the U.S., so her mother can take a break and live in Thailand to run a mineral water business.
「My mom has sacrificed a lot for me, and I』d like to repay her,」 Erica said.
The 22-year-old plans to go to college next.
Screenshot: Thairath TV