Leona Helmsley Leaving 12 Million Dollars For Her Maltese
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For some the term it is a dogs life is the mark of despair, but for some the of the grandchildren of Leona Helmsley it is pure jealousy. The famed Queen of Mean and billionaire left a will that suited her famous temperament perfectly. Instead of leaving an equal share to all, she was very specific leaving 12 million to her dog Trouble while cutting out some of her grandchildren.
Growing up in New York and living there during the period of her tax problems has implanted Leona Helmsley on my brain as the real estate mogul arch villain and probably why I have written so much about her. Harry Helmsley was always pictured as the sweet doting man and Leona the conniving wench that was always sticking daggers into her enemies at night. To read her will and her actions in the afterlife cements this image for me.
So when the tough-as-nails businesswoman died on August Th, no one knew quite what to expect in her will. But even veteran observers were stunned when its contents were revealed on Tuesday. Helmsley left her white Maltese named “Trouble” $12 million, to assure the animal would live in comfort for the rest of its life.
She also bequeathed millions for her brother, who was named a caregiver for the dog. And two of her grandchildren will get to keep $5 million each - but only if they visit their father’s grave-site once a year. Miss a turn and they lose everything. Two other grandchildren got absolutely nothing from the bizarre woman, for “reasons that are known to them,” she wrote. via CityNews
Comment by Mary on 29 August 2007:
As many other Realtors in the Florida area, I am completely disturbed by the media and all that is happening with tons of news with reference to the “housing disaster.” What people don’t seem to realize is yes we are in a bit of a crunch right now, but it’s much easier to justify buying a home than it is to play the game of stocks and bonds. I know many people that had lump sums set aside in the stock market and after the catastrophe of 9/11 they lost nearly half of their retirement. Every day we take a risk, some more than others but sometimes in life we must take a risk to proceed to the next hurdle and some are more successful than others. Nonetheless, I am completely appalled at how the media has relayed information and completely drag it out in the open over and over again. Perhaps it’s not just the lenders that are at fault. By the way the media makes it sound we will be hard to recover and people that do own homes that have “negative equity” look at all of these things and come to the conclusion that perhaps it be best to just let the house go back to the bank, rather than continue paying on something they perhaps paid too much for looking at the changes from yesterdays market to today’s market.. All I am saying is the media needs to know when to say when and enough is enough. It is them that are contributing to making the market much worse than what it truly is or could be. Lay off and stop making it worse.
Pingback by Friday File – The Bright Spots of the Week in Real Estate Blogging | Future of Real Estate and Loans on 31 August 2007:
[…] Then, One From the Ridiculous File […]
Comment by debra on 3 September 2007:
a maltese is a dog not a cat,. Its pretty pathetic for someone to leave a cat 12 million dollars, it would take that much to have the pet taken care of for the rest of its life. But then again these estentric millionaires have the pets meal flown in. The drug dog does deserve to have its meal flown in.