August 29, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
In what could well be one of the most-generous bequests of the decade, Leona M. Helmsley has left much of her estate — worth billions of dollars — to a charitable trust.
Ms. Helmsley, head of the Helmsley Hotel Chain, died this month of heart failure. Her estate has been estimated to be worth between $4-billion and $8-billion.
While she had a reputation among her hotel employees for having a terrifying temper, Ms. Helmsley apparently had a charitable side: Through her will, she directed that all of her assets, including cash from the sale of her homes and other property, be given to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Ms. Helmsley created the trust in 1999, according to the will. She does not name any nonprofit groups or specific causes as beneficiaries.
Gifts that Ms. Helmsley made during her lifetime included a total of $70-million to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and $5-million to the American Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
In her will, Ms. Helmsley also left approximately $35-million to family members, including $3-million for the upkeep of the mausoleum where she and her late husband, Harry B. Helmsley, are buried, and $12-million to a trust for her dog, Trouble.
A copy of the will, which was signed in July 2005, is posted on the Web site of the New York Daily News.
