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Helmsley's Posthumous Mission to Help Dogs, Screw Humans
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 2, 2008
Modified Jul 2, 2008
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 2, 2008
Modified Jul 2, 2008
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Since Leona Helmsley died last year at the age of 87, details of the Queen of Mean's will and wishes have caused chatter amongst those who knew and knew of her. Most notably, her dog, a Maltese named Trouble, was left a hefty $12 million...surely more than he can spend in his lifetime! The move led to death threats against the pup, who now has a security team that costs around $100K per year. She also mandated from the afterlife that her tomb be “acid-washed or steam-cleaned” once a year.
The NY Times now reports that Helmsley (not known for her affection towards the human race) also left a mission statement of sorts, instructing that the entire trust, around $5 to 8 billion, be put towards the care and welfare of dogs. However, the trustees (in this case, her brother Alvin Rosenthal, two of her grandsons, Walter and David Panzirer, her lawyer Sandor Frankel, and her longtime friend John Codey) may use their discretion in distributing the money, so it's currently uncertain if her posthumous wish will come to be as it is not legally binding.
Currently the trustees are working with a philanthropic advisor and it is noted that Judge Roth of Manhattan will play a role again (she cut Trouble's inheritance by $10M). Allegedly Helmsley established this charitable goal list in 2003 with only two items on it. The first one involved helping indigent people...and was later removed from the list.
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dogs
Leona Helmsley
mission statement
posthumous
trouble
will
wish
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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