Roger Federer
The late Nicholas Newlife left his entire estate - including the outcomes of several sporting wagers - to the charity
A bet placed nearly a decade ago on the tennis player Roger Federer to win Wimbledon seven times has netted Oxfam more than £100,000.
In 2003, Nicholas Newlife put £1,520 at 66/1 on the Swiss champion to win the men’s singles title at the All England Club at least seven times before 2020.
Newlife, who lived in Oxfordshire, died in 2009, aged 59, and left his entire estate to Oxfam, including the outcome of seven sporting bets he made between 2000 and 2005.
Oxfam said the total of £101,840 would go towards its west Africa food crisis appeal, enabling the charity to feed 10,000 families for a month.
The charity said it has already benefited from one of Newlife’s wagers, receiving £16,750 last year from a bet of £250 at 66/1 on Federer to win at least 14 grand slam titles before 2020.
Other bets include £750 on the tennis player Andy Roddick to win at least 10 grand slam singles titles before 2020 at 100/1, which would see Oxfam receive £75,075, and £250 on the cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan to make more than 9,000 test match runs by the end of 2019 at 250/1, which would make £62,750 for the charity.
Andrew Barton, head of relationship marketing at Oxfam, said: "All of Oxfam have been cheering Federer’s progress for the past couple of weeks.
"The real hero, though, must be Mr Newlife, for his generous gift and his tremendous sporting acumen."
Oxfam receives an average of between £12m and £13m from about 600 legacy donations every year.
