Chicago Man Secretly Dies with $11 Million in His Estate — 119 Distant Relatives Share His Riches

Chicago Man Quietly Left Behind $11 Million — The Largest Unclaimed Estate In American History
Chicago Man Quietly Left Behind $11 Million — The Largest Unclaimed Estate In American History

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A Chicago man who died in 2016 secretly left behind $11 million, marking the largest unclaimed estate in the country.

Joseph Stancak's 119 relatives have received the millions, the Office of Illinois State Treasurer said in a news release earlier this month.

A majority of his family members live in Poland and Slovakia, the state treasurer said, noting that his parents were also born in Poland. However, seven relatives were located in the Chicago area while others were found in New Jersey, New York and Minnesota.

Stancak was found dead in his home in the Gage Park neighborhood on Dec. 23, 2016. He was 87.

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"Little is known about how Mr. Stancak accumulated such wealth so quietly, although he did own a boat named "Easy," "the agency added.

He never had any children. Though he had seven siblings, they all died before him and they did not have children either.

"Because Mr. Stancak and his siblings never had children, the Stancak estate had to identify family through his parents — essentially going up the family tree before going back down," the treasurer's office said.

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Treasurer Michael Frerichs added of Stancak's relatives, "This is a life-changing amount of money. I only wish we knew more about Mr. Stancak.

"It is unclear how Mr. Stancak accumulated such wealth," the agency continued. "In 2019, a variety of investments began to be turned over to the treasurer's office as unclaimed property; such investments typically are surrendered if the owner has not had contact in three years and the investment firm is unable to locate the owner."

Stancak's neighbors told CBS News that he was a quiet man who did not spend a ton of money and even repaired his home himself.

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Attorney Kenneth Piercy is serving as the administrator of Stancak's estate. He got the treasurer's office attention after he filed a claim and the agency spotted the high amount. "It is a great privilege to be able to assist the heirs in collecting their rightful inheritance," Piercey said in the release.

Piercy did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment but he told Block Club Chicago that the records go back "five generations deep" and include "living cousins once or twice removed in many countries."

"In my office I have a scroll 15 feet long that can go across the entire room," Piercey told the outlet. "I've never seen a case this complicated before."

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The treasurer's office defines unclaimed property as money left sitting in a bank account for years, life insurance benefits that haven't been paid out, or items left in a safe deposit box.

Before Stancak's estate became the largest in unpaid property, the highest amount was $8.1 million, which went to a suburban car parts manufacturer, the treasurer's office said. The highest amount given to one person was $5 million to a woman in Cook County back in 2013.