<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99.11.A
<SEQUENCE>3
<FILENAME>y10046exv99w11wa.txt
<DESCRIPTION>OPINION AND CONSENT OF WILLKIE FARR & GALLAGHER LLP
<TEXT>
<PAGE>

                                                                   Exhibit 11(a)

                     Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Letterhead

June 20, 2005

The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc.
One Corporate Center
Rye, New York 10580

Ladies and Gentlemen:

You have requested us, as counsel to The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc. (the
"Company"), a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Maryland, to
furnish you with this opinion in connection with the Company's filing of its
Registration Statement on Form N-14 (the "Registration Statement") with the
Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
registering the shares of common stock of the Company, par value $.001 per share
(the "Shares"), to be issued pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization
(the "Agreement"), dated as of May 23, 2005, among the Company, Sterling Capital
Corporation, a New York corporation ("Sterling Capital"), and Gabelli Funds, LLC
(solely for purposes of Section 5(b) of the Agreement). The Agreement provides
for the proposed acquisition by the Company of substantially all of the assets
of Sterling Capital solely in exchange for the Shares (and cash in lieu of
fractional Shares) and the assumption by the Company of the Stated Liabilities
(as defined in the Agreement) of Sterling Capital.

We have examined the Registration Statement, substantially in the form in which
it is to become effective, the Company's Charter and By-Laws, each as amended,
and the Agreement. We have also examined such other records, documents, papers,
statutes and authorities as we have deemed necessary to form a basis for the
opinion hereinafter expressed.

In our examination of the materials described above, we have assumed the
genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us
as originals and the conformity to original documents of all copies submitted to
us. As to various questions of fact material to our opinion, we have relied upon
statements and certificates of officers and representatives of the Company and
others, which facts we have not independently verified. We have further assumed
that the Agreement constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of
Sterling Capital, enforceable against Sterling Capital in accordance with its
terms.

Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion that:

      1.    The Company is a corporation validly existing and in good standing
            under the laws of the State of Maryland; and

      2.    The Shares to be issued pursuant to the Agreement have been duly
            authorized, and, when issued in accordance with the Agreement and
            for the consideration set forth therein, will be validly issued,
            fully paid and nonassessable under the laws of the State of
            Maryland.
<PAGE>
The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc.
June 20, 2005
Page 2


We hereby consent to the reference to us in the Registration Statement and the
filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. We are
furnishing this opinion solely for your benefit and this opinion may not be
relied upon by any other person without our consent.

We are members of the Bar of the State of New York only and do not opine as to
the laws of any jurisdiction other than the laws of the State of New York and
the federal laws of the United States, and the opinions set forth above are,
accordingly, limited to the laws of those jurisdictions. As to matters governed
by the State of Maryland, we have relied upon the opinion of Venable LLP (which
is attached hereto).

Very truly yours,

/s/ Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
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</DOCUMENT>
