After the nephew died without heirs in 1835 , President Andrew Jackson informed Congress of the bequest , which amounted to 104,960 gold sovereigns , or USD 500,000 ( $ 9,235,277 in 2005 U.S. dollars after inflation ) . After the nephew died without heirs in 1835 , President Andrew Jackson informed Congress of the bequest , which amounted to 104,960 gold sovereigns , or US$ 500,000 ( $ 10,100,997 in 2008 U.S. dollars after inflation ) .