£150k tag for watch found on Titanic's richest victim

THIS gold pocket watch found with the body of the richest man on the Titanic has been tipped to fetch up to £150,000 at auction.

- Paul Vass

Tycoon Col. John Jacob Astor was one of the wealthiest people in the world when he died as the liner sank on April 15, 1912.

Astor, 47, helped his pregnant wife Madeleine, 19, into a lifeboat after the Titanic struck an iceberg 400 miles off Newfoundland.

He was stopped from joining her by First Officer Charles Lightoller who was prioritising women and children. Impeccably dressed, Astor was last seen smoking on the bridge and chatting to a fellow first-class passenger.