Leona Helmsley’s wishes are going to the dogs. Two years before her death, the infamously wealthy hotelier and real estate mogul attempted to have the proceeds from her $5 billion charitable trust primarily go to “purposes related to the provision of care for dogs.”
Her grandchildren have asserted that Helmsley was not mentally competent when she signed her will; a judge ruled in February that trustees could give the money as they saw fit. These facts were a factor in the doggie disbursements being lowered to a mere $1 million split among 10 charities, including some that train seeing-eye dogs, dogs for the deaf, and another that trains inmates to raise puppies to become bomb-sniffers. The remaining funds have been awarded to a variety of other charities.
What do the grandchildren say now?