Nevada loner lived in Aladdin's cave worth $7m
He had US$200 in the bank and millions in gold at home. Now a long lost relative will inherit
Northern Nevada officials say there's a lesson here of a Howard Hughes ilk: You can never judge a person's worth by the kind of life he or she leads.
That was certainly the case for Walter Samaszko Junior. When the recluse was found dead at home in Carson City, Nevada, there was US$200 in his bank account. But when authorities searched his house they found an Aladdin's cave of treasures, overflowing with enough gold bars and coins to fill two wheelbarrows and worth US$7 million.
"You never anticipate running into anything like this," Carson City Clerk Recorder Alan Glover told the Los Angeles Times.
"It was a run-of-the-mill 1,200-square-foot tract home that still had orange shag carpet. This guy was everybody's next-door neighbour."
Samaszko, 69, was described by officials as a loner who went about his business and had few friends. He had been dead at least a month when neighbours called the authorities.
The victim, who suffered from heart trouble, had lived in the house since the 1960s with his mother until her death in 1992.