Sai Baba - legacy

Sathya Sai Baba's death triggers fight for his £5.5 billion empire

The death of an Indian guru who built up a worldwide following of up to 50 million people has triggered an unholy scramble for control of his £5.5 billion empire.

Sathya Sai Baba's claims to divinity, and his apparent ability to magic holy items out of thin air were enough to win him an army of devotees, including celebrities such as Goldie Hawn, Sarah Ferguson and Hard Rock cafe founder Isaac Tigrett.

India's president and prime minister both attended his latest birthday celebrations.

Their devotion was tested to the limits in recent years by persistent allegations that the guru indulged in widespread sexual abuse of young acolytes at his ashram in Puttaparthi in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Yet even when video footage proved beyond doubt that his "miracles" were simple sleight of hand and he was implicated in the murders of four followers, millions still refused to believe the worst.

His death on Sunday, however, is another matter. Sai Baba had built his empire on the myth that he was the reincarnation of an earlier – and much loved – Indian saint of the same name. In doing so, he had prophesied his own death at the age of 96 – and his reincarnation eight years later.