Leona Helmsley Leaves $12M To Her Dog
Will Of Late New York Hotel Queen Leaves Nothing To Two Grandchildren
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Play CBS Video Video 'Queen Of Mean' Passes Away Leona Helmsley, a New York hotel and real estate millionaire famous for her tax evasion trial in the late 1980s, passed away at her summer home in Greenwich, Conn. She was 87.
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Leona Helmsley and her dog Trouble photographed in Leona Helmsley's Park Lane Hotel apartment. Friday, January 31, 2003 in New York. (AP Photo/Jennifer Graylock)
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Leona Helmsley and her husband, self-made billionaire Harry Helmsley, arrive at federal court in New York, April 30, 1988, where they were facing tax evasion charges. (AP)
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Leona with real estate magnate Harry Helmsley, on Jan. 6, 1989. The two were married in 1972; when he died in 1997, she said: "My fairy tale is over. I lived a magical life with Harry." (AP)
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Leona Helmsley, seen here in 2004, saw herself as a tough businesswoman but the complaints of employees and contractors instead earned her the nickname "Queen of Mean," a title to which she took exception. (Getty Images/Paul Hawthorne)
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Leona Helmsley, during her heyday running the Harley hotel chain, seen here in July 1991, before serving 21 months for a tax evasion conviction. (AP)
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Helmsley left her beloved white Maltese, named Trouble, a $12 million trust fund, according to her will, which was made public Tuesday in surrogate court.
She also left millions for her brother, Alvin Rosenthal, who was named to care for Trouble in her absence, as well as two of four grandchildren from her late son Jay Panzirer - so long as they visit their father's grave site once each calendar year.
Otherwise, she wrote, neither will get a penny of the $5 million she left for each.
Helmsley left nothing to two of Jay Panzirer's other children - Craig and Meegan Panzirer - for "reasons that are known to them," she wrote.
But no one made out better than Trouble, who once appeared in ads for the Helmsley Hotels, and lived up to her name by biting a housekeeper.
"I direct that when my dog, Trouble, dies, her remains shall be buried next to my remains in the Helmsley mausoleum," Helmsley wrote in her will.
The mausoleum, she ordered, must be "washed or steam-cleaned at least once a year." She left behind $3 million for the upkeep of her final resting place in Westchester County, where she is buried with her husband, Harry Helmsley.
She also left her chauffeur, Nicholas Celea, $100,000.
She ordered that cash from sales of the Helmsley's residences and belongings, reported to be worth billions, be sold and that the money be given to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Her longtime spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, had no comment.
Helmsley died earlier this month at her Connecticut home. She became known as a symbol of 1980s greed and earned the nickname "the Queen of Mean" after her 1988 indictment and subsequent conviction for tax evasion. One employee had quoted her as snarling, "Only the little people pay taxes."
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
- Ugly is as ugly does.
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- ALL OF YOU WHO WROTE IN THIS BLOG ARE JEALOUS, immature, neanderthals. Class envy and jealousy. You''re doing real well for yourselves.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
I don''t care if she was a meany. So what? She did take better care of her dog than Vick did his. But instead of saying anything decent---like you all knew her personally---you say nasty things about Jews, rich and oopsy your true colors are showing...you vulgar little people. - Reply to this comment
- The real life Cruella DeVille .... I hope they put a stake through her heart before they buried the B-I-T-C-H!
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- Do you know why she once said, "only the little people pay taxes"? Because that''s a true statement. People think taxes are progressive, but that''s just not true. Unlike the working class that pay tax from their earned income (i.e. wages, salary), the rich get their income from capital gains (i.e. investments, business ventures). Capital gain taxes are FLAT, not progressive. That''s why they always clamor to eliminate the capital gains tax. If this happens then the rich will pay NO tax at all. While the working class always pay income tax no matter what, the rich can avoid taxes and get even richer by reinvesting their gains. Of course with the current tax code they also have all kinds of shelter to hide their money. Progressivity sounds good on the surface, but it only affects the working class, and is a disincentive for working people to getting ahead, because of diminishing returns.
The only logical solution is to eliminate the income tax altogether, and replace it with a sales tax. No more countless hours and wasted money filling out tax returns. No more deductions and loopholes put there by special interests to be exploited. Everybody pays tax when they spend. It can be made more progressive with necessity items not taxed and luxury items taxed at a higher rate. It is both simple and fair. - Reply to this comment
- Why can''t somebody rich leave me a good chunk of money?
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- ...... lucky dog........
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- Her dog her cash period.sounds foolish but she had the right as we all do if we ever become rich to do the same. We have all learned through supposedly chairitable organizatitions pocket way more than they give. This was her way of saying won''t be screwed to look good.
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- Stupid old broads & their hideous little dogs.
They should force-feed it caviar. Then bury it alive in the mausoleum. - Reply to this comment
- Hmmm.. lets see.. I think the dog needs a new house with appliances made of solid gold, a diamond studded feeding bowl, and a pound of the most expensive caviar as dog food every single day for the rest of its life.. Boy, thats a dog''s life, huhh..!! I wonder what Michael Vick would do if he could lay his hands on this mutt..
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- Silly, ditzy Jew *** reaches beyond the grave to screw her step-children.
How like the Chosen People.
Ugly as an old piece of matzoh, too. - Reply to this comment
- OK,OK,, HERES THE DEAL, 12 MILLION TO THAT LITTLE OL'' DOGGY, WELL I NEVER THOUGHT I''D SAY THIS, BUT I''LL MARRY THAT DOG, YIP, I''LL MARRY THAT DOG, FOR LIFE !! AT LEAST ITS GOT A SHORT LIFE SPAN, AND THEN I CAN GO OUT AND MARRY A REALLY HOTT LOOKING CHICK,, WHERE ARE YOU DENISE RICHARDS, OR JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT, OR JENNIFER ESPOSITO, I''M HIGHLY AVAILABLE AND SINGLE AND SOON TO BE FILTHY RICH TOO !!!! LETS PARTY BABY !!!!!!
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- So everyone WAS right about her...figures.
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- ""I''''m guessing the grandkids figured long ago being free from a egomaniacal dictator control-free was priceless and have no regrets.""
Posted by SamTheTVCat
Bullseye! - Reply to this comment
- I hear the dog is about to go on a around the world cruise - he might want to skip visiting Korea.
Posted by ianlou at 04:06 PM : Aug 29, 2007
LOL.... :)
Wonder if the dog is going to have to pay taxes on the $$$? If he knocks up a neighbor''''s dog, would he have to pay puppy support?
Posted by infidel_us at 04:17 PM : Aug 29, 2007
:D Lavish partying I''m okay with so long as he doesn''t dui - he smarter than Paris, Nicole, Britney and Lindsay so I''m optimistic . . . - Reply to this comment
- Wow, what a massive ***** this chick was - sticking it to her flesh and blood from the grave . . . I''m guessing the grandkids figured long ago being free from a egomaniacal dictator control-free was priceless and have no regrets.
PS Isn''t she worth $2.5billion? Where''d the rest of it go? - Reply to this comment
- Wonder if the dog is going to have to pay taxes on the $$$? If he knocks up a neighbor''''s dog, would he have to pay puppy support?
Posted by infidel_us at 04:17 PM : Aug 29, 2007
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that trust will be broke in a year. (maybe less) that would depend on the type of vampires this ex-head vampire hired..chances are..they are the vicious types. I would not be surpised if they already have 3 to 4 look-a-likes dogs (just in case) - Reply to this comment
- What the holey h.ell does Hillary Clinton have to do with this crazy old woman''''s money????? Is your son in Iraq fighting, mine is.....
Posted by Toie1 at 03:51 PM : Aug 29, 2007
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They both share the same passion..(since you asked)
thank you for your sacrifice, hope none of those clinton zombies spit at your son when he rotates around the globe - Reply to this comment
- I wish she was still alive so I could kick her in the shins. What a hateful, controlling woman.
12 mil to a dog. If I were a judge I''d deem her of unsound mind and split the money between all the grandchildren. - Reply to this comment
- I hear the dog is about to go on a around the world cruise - he might want to skip visiting Korea.
Posted by ianlou at 04:06 PM : Aug 29, 2007
LOL.... :)
Wonder if the dog is going to have to pay taxes on the $$$? If he knocks up a neighbor''s dog, would he have to pay puppy support? - Reply to this comment
- I think it would be the best thing for the other 2 grandchildren. Its time for them to learn real life and how to live it without EXCESS.
I rather work for my money and be happy away from the insanity this money had created and WILL CREATE - Reply to this comment




