Feeling especially left out of the equation is his granddaughter Evelyn Einstein. While struggling to make ends meet in California – and recovering from cancer – she has watched in astonishment as the money river from Einstein merchandise – bobble-head dolls, videos, mugs, coins, dog bowls, you name it – has flowed unabated.
The problem, of course, is that it's not emptying into the pockets of her or any of the scattered Einstein descendants but rather to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, to which Einstein, who was born to Jewish German parents, bequeathed the literary rights to his papers as well as other items in his estate upon his death in 1955.
Ms Einstein, who is 69, is now going public with her anger with the university, which later trademarked the Einstein name and his likeness and uses a Los Angeles-based licensing company called Greenlight LLC to handle the merchandising industry spawned by the late genius with electrified hair.
"I never made any issue of the fact that they were willed the literary estate," Ms Einstein said this week. "But what does a bobble-head have to do with a literary estate? I was really offended by some of the stuff that was being OK'd." She added: "I'm outraged. It's hard for me to believe they would treat the family the way they have."
For its part, the university seems unconcerned by her complaints, issuing a statement to CNN that contained not a flicker of empathy. "Einstein left all of his intellectual property, encompassing his literary estate and personal papers, to the Hebrew University, including the rights to the use of his image... the income of the university from the use of his image is dedicated to scientific research."
Ms Einstein is the adopted daughter of Albert's son, Hans Albert, who emigrated from Switzerland to California in 1938, although she told Discover magazine that she was told when growing up that she was actually a secret love-child of Albert himself.
In any event, having the Einstein name seems to have given no advantages to a woman who has admitted to living at times in a car and eating food taken from rubbish skips. "Everyone assumes I'm filthy rich, and they think I have a mental problem because I'm not using my money," she told the New York Post.
In 2008, Ms Einstein said she had worked over the years as a dog-catcher, a cult deprogrammer and a reserve policewoman. However, she has suffered from years of ill-health from liver disease and cancer. She said she had hitherto said nothing about the muddled stories of her relationship to Einstein.
"I realised that this big, dark secret about my birth was an open book to many people," she said. "Since I have no proof, I thought that if I broached this subject to people they would think that I am crazy, a total fruitcake! So I never spoke about it."
Tapping into the money from the bobble-head dolls and other Einstein merchandise may be her last hope. But whenever she has approached the Hebrew University about sharing the profits, she has been "rudely blown away", she asserts, adding that it has treated her and her family "abysmally".
爱因斯坦的后代所得相对甚少(作者 戴维·厄斯本)
如果你是爱因斯坦家族的人,相对论可帮不了你什么忙。
他的孙女伊夫琳·爱因斯坦感到尤其不公平。她正处在癌症康复期,目前在加利福尼亚过着拮据的生活,与此同时,她只能眼睁睁地看着印有爱因斯坦形象的各种商品——绒毛玩偶、光碟、马克杯、硬币甚至狗食盆等——持续热销。
现在的问题是,这些商品所带来的收益不是进了她和其他爱因斯坦后人的口袋,而是都归耶路撒冷的希伯来大学所有。出身犹太家庭的爱因斯坦把他的著作权和其它遗产都留给了这所大学。
现年69岁的伊夫琳·爱因斯坦已公开表达了对希伯来大学的愤怒。该校将爱因斯坦的名字和肖像都注册了商标,并通过洛杉矶一家公司来管理相关商品产业。
“我从未对他们拥有著作权的事实表示过异议”,伊夫琳说,“但绒毛玩具和著作权有什么关系?我真的对他们同意生产的某些东西感到很生气。这太令人愤慨了。真不敢相信他们会这样对待爱因斯坦家族”。
而希伯来大学方面对她的抗议似乎无动于衷。校方发给CNN的一份声明说:“爱因斯坦将包括著作权和个人文件在内的所有知识产权都给了希伯来大学,其中包括对他的形象的使用权……使用他的形象所得的收入都用于了科学研究。”
伊夫琳是爱因斯坦的儿子汉斯·阿尔贝特的养女。但她曾对《发现》杂志说,她长大后得知自己实际上是爱因斯坦的私生女。
不管怎么看,对一个承认曾经住在汽车里吃捡来的食物的妇女来说,爱因斯坦这个姓没有给她带来任何好处。她对《纽约邮报》说:“别人都认为我很有钱,他们觉得我脑子有问题,因为我不愿意花钱。”
2008年,伊夫琳说,这些年来她曾做过捕狗员、洗脑专家和后备警员。然而,她一直饱受着肝病和癌症的折磨。她说她没对人说过自己与爱因斯坦真正关系的事。
争取从有爱因斯坦形象的商品中分得一杯羹可能是她最后的希望了。但她说,每当她尝试跟希伯来大学讨论此事时,对方都“粗暴地打发了她”,他们对自己和爱因斯坦家族“太过分了”。
