Scottish shipyard baronet Sir Eric Yarrow left £776,000 ($975,000) in his will when he died aged 98 last year.
The businessman ran family firm Yarrows through turbulent times for shipbuilding on the Clyde during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
The Times reported the money was left to his family, but with some donations to be made too, not least £30,000 to his carers.
He also bequeathed £10,000 to the Cure Parkinson’s Trust, £20,000 to the Abernethy Trust, £5,000 to the Brain Tumour Charity and £5,000 to the Ardgowan Hospice in Greenock.
St Fillan’s Episcopal church, Kilmacolm, was left £10,000 and the Burma Star Association received £10,000.
Yarrow claimed his family were “robbed” when his yard was nationalised by the government in 1977.
He battled to win compensation, always maintaining that the £6m price was based on low profits and share prices.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled it was up to national governments to decide the value of nationalised assets.
He later said: “We were robbed and nobody likes being robbed whether it’s your wallet, your house or your business.”
Born in 1920, he served during World War II as a major in the Royal Engineers.
He then joined the family business Yarrows of Scotstoun, Glasgow, in 1946, becoming managing director at 38 and chairman, following the death of his father, Harold Yarrow, in 1962.
Later he became president of Yarrow plc until 1987.
The company turned out merchant vessels, particularly passengerships, but its key relationship was with the British navy.
