Following the sudden death of Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Plummer and his wife, Judy, in a yacht accident off the coast of Sicily in August 2024, new legal documents have revealed how their multi-million-dollar fortune will be distributed.
According to an estate administration document, Plummer’s net worth was approximately $8.7 million (£6.55 million). Plummer had drawn up his will in 1996, naming his wife as the sole executor and primary beneficiary of the estate, provided she outlived him by at least 90 days. Because she died with him in the accident, the estate will be divided equally among their three children: James Plummer, Helena O’Donnell, and Elizabeth Plummer, who were also appointed as executors of the will.
The will also stipulated that a portion of the estate could be donated to charities the trustees deemed appropriate. In addition, Plummer bequeathed approximately $133,000 (£100,000) to each of his parents or his mother-in-law, if they were alive at the time of his death.
If none of his children survived him, Plummer bequeathed his estate to his two brothers and the wife of one of them.
The couple were among 22 people on board the 183-foot superyacht Bayesian, which sank near Porticello Harbor on August 19, 2024. The cause of the sinking is still under investigation. Other victims included chef Ricaldo Thomas, British businessman Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah, and New York-based lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Nida.
In a statement issued after the accident, the Plummer family described the couple as “dedicated partners and loving grandparents,” adding: “Our only solace is that they are still together. This is an unbearable grief.”
Jonathan Plummer was highly respected in the financial world, while Judy, a former teacher turned psychotherapist, was known for her dedication and philanthropy, including her work as a trustee of The Eve Appeal, which supports women’s cancer research.
