Leona Helmsley

Leona Helmsley passed away on August 20, 2007 at the age of 87. For those that lived near the New York City area, she was known as “The Queen of Mean.” A nickname she earned due to how poorly she treated employees. She owned a hotel and was a real estate investor.

She was born Leona Mindy Rosenthal in New York on July 4, 1920. She changed her last name to Roberts and appeared as a model for Chesterfield cigarettes. Leona was married three times, the last to millionaire Harry Helmsley who divorced his wife of 33 years to marry Leona. By this time, Leona was a millionaire herself and under her guidance the Helmsleys started converting apartments into condominiums in the 70s and 80s.

Leona had one son, Jay, who died in 1982. Leona sued the estate and left her daughter-in-law and four grandchildren virtually broke.

In 1989, Leona was convicted of tax evasion and served 21 months of a 16 year sentence. Presidential hopeful, Rudy Giuliani was one of the prosecutors in the case. She was once reported as saying “We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.”

Her later years were lived in isolation estranged from family. Her husband, Harry, preceded her in death in 1997. She is entombed with her husband in a $1.4 million mausoleum in Westchester County, New York.