Helmsley's fortune has gone to the dogs

Source: Agencies  |   2008-7-3  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

NEW York hotelier and real estate magnate Leona Helmsley left millions to her beloved dog, Trouble, but she has left billions for the care of dogs in general, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Helmsley left instructions that an entire charitable trust valued at US$5 billion to US$8 billion and amounting to virtually all of her estate, be used for the care and welfare of dogs, the newspaper said, citing two people who had seen the document and described it on condition of anonymity.

The two said Helmsley signed the document in 2003 to establish goals for the trust that would disburse assets after her death. The first goal was to help indigent people and the second to provide for the care and welfare of dogs, the newspaper said. A year later, she deleted the first goal.

The article said the mission statement also had a provision that Helmsley's trustees may use their discretion in distributing the funds, and some lawyers say the statement may not mean much.

Helmsley, known as "the Queen of Mean" because of the way she treated her employees, had a soft spot for her dog. But a New York court last month lowered the dog's inheritance to US$2 million from US$12 million on grounds that Helmsley was mentally unfit when she made her will.