A wealthy business man had only one child, a son. Early in his teens the boy's mother died, then tragically, in his late teens the boy also died, leaving the business man totally bereft. He never married again, but put all his effort into building up his business empire and soon was a very wealthy man. Apart from his wife and son, the man's only other love was for art and soon he had built up one of the finest art collections in Europe, worth millions of pounds.

Shortly after his eightieth birthday the man died, but before his death he had left instructions that his entire art collection was to be sold at auction. On the day of the auction, buyers assembled from all over the world, among them several well-known galleries, as well as many private collectors, all eager to bid for these fine works of art. Among the many paintings was one that received little attention, as it was of poor quality and painted by an unknown local artist, but it happened to be a portrait of the business man's only son. As the auction began, the auctioneer explained to the many potential buyers that the old man's will had stipulated that the first painting to be sold had to be that of his beloved son.

Because of the poor quality, the painting received no bids at all from the art dealers, but a man at the back of the room offered £50 and as it was the only bid, it was accepted. The man's lawyer then stepped up and announced the sale was now over, as his clients will had stipulated that, "Whoever buys the painting of my son, will also inherit my entire art collection." The mystery bidder turned out to be an old servant of the family, who had helped to raise the boy and loved him as a father.