Books where someone inherits, wins, or receives great wealth and tries to give it away

[Keith]

Can anyone think of any books where, early on, someone inherits (or wins, or otherwise receives somewhat unexpectedly) some large fortune (money, property, etc.) but decides they don't want/need it and tries to give most or all of it away? This could be for ideological reasons (e.g. they don't approve of huge personal wealth, they disagree with how that wealth was originally acquired, etc.) or personal reasons (e.g. they hated the person who left it to them).

There are plenty of books which open with a big unexpected inheritance etc., but I can't think of any with this sort of plot. A borderline example would be (view spoiler)[The Testament by John Grisham, which revolves more around the search for the unexpected heir (hide spoiler)].

This plot could pop up in pretty much any genre - historical, romance, thriller, etc.

[Rachel]

You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers has a plot along these lines.

There's also Brewster's Millions, the book that the film was based on, which sort of fits the bill.

[Keith]

Thanks! That first one sounds like it might fit the bill.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Portrait of a Lady is along these lines.

[Keith]

Lobstergirl wrote: "The Portrait of a Lady is along these lines."

Thanks - I've seen the film adaptation of this, but it was a long time ago.

[Rosa]

Toads and Diamonds, sort of.

[Pamela]

Middlemarch by George Eliot Middlemarch