A few months ago, a little Maltese dog named Trouble died in Sarasota, Florida. Normally, such an event would not be cause for international news, except in this case, that dog had inherited more than $12 million dollars from its former owner, Leona Helmsley.
Worth around $8 billion when she died, Leona Helmsley had few friends and little interest in her family. Dubbed the “Queen of Mean” for stiffing her employees, suing her family members, and ferocious temper, it is fairly obvious her wealth did not bring her happiness. She cut two of her grandchildren out of her will because they failed to name their children after her dead husband. The bulk of her $8 billion dollar estate was bequeathed to various charities to care for dogs. She stipulated $12 million be designated to care for her own dog, Trouble.
Although the court later overturned many aspects of the will, Trouble lived in the lap of luxury until she died. What sort of woman leaves $12 million to a dog and excludes most of her family? I don’t know that Leona Helmsley’s eccentricities are any more profound because of her money….but that money certainly gave her a tool with which to bludgeon her family.
The writer in me wonders if her life would have been happier without the 8 billion dollars.
Comments 1
I love it! Of course, being an elementary school librarian, my shelves often look like that!