Maybe the title perked your interest. Hopefully now, you have decided to read on. Let me start by saying I like dogs. Actually, I love dogs! Growing up we had Peppy running around the house, then we had a beautiful fun loving dog named Duchess and now we have Boston, a cute Yorkshire terrier.
I was reading an article the other day and was surprised to find out that Leona Helmsley set up a simple pet trust for her white Maltese, Trouble, ensuring that Trouble will continue to enjoy a lifestyle other dogs can only dream of. I’m sure you’ve heard by now…Trouble ended up getting twelve million dollars.
Let me start by saying I never met Leona or her husband Harry, nor do I have anything against the little cute and fluffy white Maltese Trouble. Yes we have all heard the whacky stories of Leona. The stories where they were portrayed as very mean and cheap individuals. Some say that Leona, who served a prison term for income tax evasion and fraud, was regarded as a 1980’s symbol of arrogance and greed.
With everything that is going on in the world (most of which is bad) – couldn’t Leona give the money to charity? Or at least most of the money? She may have given away millions to charities over the years but to set up a trust that has twelve million dollars in it seems ridiculous to me. Why not do something nice at the end of your life to try and change your image? Here is a thought: why not do it just to help people?
With reality shows all over the place why not a new one entitled "What Should I Do With My Money?" Let’s assume that Leona was the first guest on this show and had a chance to read this blog. What would you say to her?
Here is what I would have said: "Leona, education is so important. Why don’t you set up a ten million (give Trouble the other two million) dollar trust to ensure that underprivileged kids can go to college? Pick a high school in New York City and every year give away ten scholarships to kids that probably couldn’t afford to go to college. Show them the way. Set up some internships at your hotels. This way you are helping these kids who in turn can get solid educations, find jobs and help their families in the future."
Leona is asking you, "What Should I Do With My Money?"
I look forward to your comments.
Lynn Kelly says:
I wonder who the successor trustee is?
Ravi Raina says:
Putting the money to good use does sound a lot more sensible/ reasonable. However, just to look at it from a different perspective, perhaps it is not too terrible to have a few crazy people in our midst. Variance from the norm is a part of natural order of things and beneficial for the system in the long run. So let’s celebrate (or at least have a good natured tolerance for) those who think and act differently than ourselves. As someone famous once said … the progress of mankind depends on the unreasonable man (I think it was GBS who said that). Cheers.
Fee Sepahi says:
Hello Merrill,
I would agree that amount of money to an animal is beyond my comprehension. Trust me when I say that I’m an animal lover through and through, but I cannot imagine the impact a portion of that money could make on the planet as a whole, be it about global warming, poverty, hunger, social security, health-care, abused children, cancer, you name it….
Money is a tool and if you’re not trained, educated or somehow guided on how to use it then it ends up going to the dogs, I suppose!
Thanks,
Fee
Joe Baldi says:
Besides leaving it to me, the best use of her money would be either to fund education for the underpriveleged or provide for food and shelter for the poor and homeless.
My top priority would be education because I firmly believe that knowledge is power and with that comes the ability to generate more resources to combat poverty and homelessness.
Joe
Bob Graham says:
“But he left all of his royalties,
To Spooner his old hound,
Growing old on steak and bacon,
In a dog house 10 feet round
And everybody wonders,
Did he really lose his mind?
No, he was just a poet,
Who lived before his time…”
–Jimmy Buffett
Lorri says:
Can you imagine how many animal shelters that could help? I am sure Trouble would be very happy to share.
merrill dubrow says:
Lorri. Exactly! I wish Leona would have realized that
Merrill
Merrill Dubrow says:
I thought I would share the latest:
Leona Helmsley’s dog Trouble’s bequest cut by $10m
Trouble, a white Maltese dog that inherited $12 million (£6 million) from billionaire Leona Helmsley, will have to get by on a little less, after a judge gave $10 million of the bequest to charity and two Helmsley grandchildren.
Judge Reena Roth ruled that Helmsley was mentally incompetent when she made her will, and gave $4 million to an undisclosed charity, and $6 million to Craig and Meegan Panzirer, who were cut out of the will, it was reported on Monday.
Helmsley, 87, who earned the sobriquet “the Queen of Mean”, left the lion’s share of her $2.5 billion fortune to unnamed causes through a charitable trust after she died on August 20, 2007.
Trouble will now have to live on just two million dollars at an undisclosed location in Florida, where she was taken in December after receiving numerous death threats.
Helmsley married the real estate magnate Harry Helmsley in 1972, helping him build a company managing some of New York’s most prestigious addresses, including the Empire State Building. (AFP)
Merrill