Heir to billionaire Pakistan business dynasty left UK estate under £100k after Titan sub tragedy

Shahzada Dawood, a victim of the Titan submersible disaster and heir to a £1.3 billion-a-year business empire in Pakistan, left less than £100,000 to his wife in the UK after dying without a valid will in Britain, according to legal documents.

Tragic loss of father and son

Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman were among the five passengers killed instantly when the OceanGate submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion” on June 18 last year. The vessel was just 1,600 feet from the Titanic wreckage in the Atlantic Ocean when the tragedy occurred.

Modest UK estate despite vast wealth

Though Dawood was the heir to a family business empire and had a personal net worth estimated at £285 million, he left an estate worth only £76,958 in the UK. This amount was granted to his wife, Christine Dawood, under a Grant of Letters of Administration.

The majority of his fortune, tied to the Karachi-based Dawood Group, appears to remain in Pakistan, where the family business includes ventures in fertilizers, food, energy, and chemicals.

Life and legacy

Dawood lived in a Surrey mansion with his wife and two children. He was vice chairman of Engro Corporation and Dawood Hercules Corporation and served as a trustee for the SETI Institute. His son Suleman was a student at Strathclyde University in Glasgow and shared his father’s passion for exploration, taking a Rubik’s Cube on the ill-fated trip to attempt a world record.

Christine, who was originally set to join the expedition but gave her place to Suleman, spoke candidly about the aftermath of the tragedy.

Coping with grief

Speaking to The Mail, Christine recalled the moment she and her daughter Alina, 17 at the time, learned of the implosion. “We took some cushions with us and just sat there looking out at the ocean. We were both crying,” she said. “I turned to her and said: ‘I’m a widow now.’ She said: ‘Yes, and I’m a single child.’ Then we cried even more.”

Christine has found solace in the ocean, saying it connects her to her late husband and son. “Every time I touch the ocean, I feel them, because they are part of it now,” she shared.

The Titan disaster

The Titan submersible lost contact with its mothership shortly after diving to the Titanic wreck, located 12,500 feet below the surface. A debris field was discovered days later, confirming the implosion.

Four months after the incident, human remains were recovered from the site for analysis.

Ongoing tributes

Christine continues to honor her husband and son, expressing gratitude for the support she has received. “It’s been the most challenging year I’ve ever known, and yet I’m still standing,” she wrote in a December 2023 tribute.

The Dawood family’s tragedy highlights the human cost behind the allure of deep-sea exploration and the fragility of even the most advanced technologies.