The Queen Is Dead

Leona Helmsley, the billionaire hotel and real estate mogul has died at age 87 of heart failure at her home in Connecticut. Most of us know her as the “Queen of Mean” from the late 1980s tabloid reports of her abusive treatment of employees, business associates, and family members during her reign as head of a variety of hotels and real estate interests within her and her husband’s empire. It was an empire that included–among others–the Empire State Building, the Helmsley Hotel on 42nd Street, and the Park Lane Hotel on Central Park South. Ms. Helmsley became the public, eyeshadow-laden face of the corporation in ads for their hotels that touted her demanding standards.

She and her husband were convicted in 1989 of tax crimes stemming from renovations to their $11 million home in Connecticut, many of which were written off as business expenses. Ms. Helmsley served twenty-one months in prison and was released in 1994.

In 2007 Forbes named her the 369th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s she largely remained behind the scenes and donated some of her fortune, including $25 million to New York Presbyterian Hospital, and $5 million after the attacks of September 11th to assist families of firefighters.

Speaking of 1980s hoteliers and hotels, let’s not forget the people over at the Milford Plaza Hotel, where one could get a room, cocktail, dinner, breakfast, and an unforgettable jingle for only $43!

The “Lullabuy” of Broadway!