Leona Helmsley grants go mostly to Medical Research not dogs

by Amy Judd | April 21, 2009 at 06:19 pm

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Trustees for Leona Helmsley's estate announced today that $136 million in charitable grants will go to causes other than looking after dogs, which was what she mainly wanted in her will after she passed away.

The 'Queen of Mean' passed away in August 2007, at age 87, and left instructions to allocate money from the Leona M. and Harry B Helmsley Trust to looking after dogs. There was a court battle to determine whether this ruled out other charitable organisations as well, and in February the judge decided that the trustees could indeed dispense the money however they wanted.

The largest amount went to the New York Presbterian Hospital / Weill Cornell Medical Center, as they received $40 million. About $1 million went to dog causes, such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other charities that work with dogs.

$115 million was allocated to medical research, and improving rural health care, and an undisclosed sum went to homeless shelters, food banks and other public services in New York.

"Throughout their lives, the Helmsleys were committed to helping others, through the innovations of medical research, responding to those in need during critical times and in other areas," the Helmsley trustees said in a statement, making no specific mention of Mrs. Helmsley's affinity for dogs. "We now have the privilege of continuing their good works by providing support where it will make a difference."

When Mrs. Helmsley left all that money to dog causes when she died, animal rights groups were over the moon. She had a fortune of anywhere between $5 billion and $8 billion.
She left her grandchildren out of her will, but named her dog Trouble as the beneficiary.

In his ruling, Judge Webber rejected the notion that the money was restricted to dog-related causes, noting that relevant legal documents empowered the trustees to allocate the money to other causes. The trustees may "apply trust funds for such charitable purposes and in such amounts as they may, in their sole discretion, determine," Judge Webber wrote.

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