Biography of leona helmsley

American businesswoman (–)

"Queen of Mean" redirects here. For other uses, see Queen of Mean (disambiguation).

Leona Roberts Helmsley (born Lena Mindy Rosenthal; July 4, – August 20, ) was an American businesswoman. After allegations of non-payment were made by contractors hired to improve Helmsley's Connecticut home, she was investigated and convicted of federal income tax evasion and other crimes in Although having initially received a sentence of 4 years, she was required to serve only 19 months in prison and two months under house arrest. During the trial, a former housekeeper testified that she had heard Helmsley say: "We don't pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes." This quote was identified with her for the rest of her life. Helmsley's flamboyant personality and reputation for tyrannical behavior earned her the nickname Queen of Mean.

Early life

Helmsley was born Lena Mindy Rosenthal in Marbletown, New York, to Polish-Jewish immigrants, Ida Popkin, a homemaker, and Morris Rosenthal, a hatmaker. Her family moved to Brooklyn while she was still a girl, and moved six more times before settling in Manhattan. After dropping out of Abraham Lincoln High School to seek her fortune, she changed her name several times over a short period—from Lee Roberts, Mindy Roberts, and Leni Roberts—before finally going by Leona Mindy Roberts and having her surname legally changed to Roberts.

Roberts' first husband was attorney Leo Panzirer, whom she divorced in Their only son was Jay (–), who had four children with his wife, Mimi. Jay died of heart failure at age Leona was twice married to and divorced from her second husband, garment industry executive Joseph Lubin. After a brief period at a sewing factory, she joined a New York real estate firm, where she eventually

Beware nineteen-eighties nostalgia. For every welcome return of Pee-wee Herman or “Ghostbusters,” there’s a revival of “Cats” or a Hulk Hogan sex tape lurking in the wings. At the head of the worst-of-the-eighties parade, of course, is Donald Trump, whose political rise has given New Yorkers enough flashbacks to the “greed is good” era to last a lifetime. Have we entered some kind of thirty-year wormhole?

Perhaps inevitably, signs have pointed to a comeback for another eighties billionaire supervillain: Leona Helmsley. The hotel empress, whose iron-fisted management style earned her the nickname the Queen of Mean, grew up in Brooklyn, the daughter of a hatmaker, and married the real-estate developer Harry B. Helmsley in In ad campaigns, she cast herself as the nitpicking monarch of the Helmsley Palace Hotel (“It’s the only Palace in the world where the Queen stands guard”), while the tabloids fed on tales of her berating and firing employees for minor infractions. In , after using company funds to renovate their Connecticut mansion, she and Harry were charged with income-tax evasion, and she served eighteen months in prison. At the trial, a housekeeper claimed to have overheard her saying, “We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.” When she died, in , she left twelve million dollars in a trust for her Maltese, Trouble.

Nearly a decade later, Helmsley’s afterlife is still unfolding. In January, New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, contested the hundred-million-dollar fee sought by the executors of her estate, who include two of her grandchildren. Melissa McCarthy has said that Helmsley was a model for her character in “The Boss”: short hair, short fuse. And, in early April, audiences got their first glimpse of a new musical in development, “Queen of Mean: The Rise and Fall of Leona Helmsley,” which aims to place its subject in the pantheon of great musical antiheroines, from Mama Rose to Eva Perón.

“I kind of wish she were alive so she c

Known as &#;the Queen of Mean,&#; Leona Helmsley was the wealthy wife and then widow of New York real estate tycoon Harry Helmsley ().

Leona Helmsley for many years made the annual Forbes list of the richest Americans. Her real estate firms owned posh hotels and prime real estate in New York City, even including the lease on the Empire State Building. But her imperious manner, and rumored mistreatment of employees, earned her that tabloid title of &#;the Queen of Mean.&#; Helmsley&#;s apparent lack of contrition was summed up in a quote attributed to her by a former housekeeper: &#;We don&#;t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.&#;

That imperious attitude got Leona Helmsley in trouble with the law more than once. She made national news in when she was convicted of mail fraud and tax evasion. Originally sentenced to 16 years in prison, she eventually served 19 months from Helmsley was also sued in by Charles Bell, a former employee who claimed she fired him because he was homosexual. The jury originally awarded Bell $ million, but a judge reduced the award in March to $,

Harry Helmsley died in , leaving all of his $5 billion fortune to her. Leona Helmsley made more news after her own death, when her lawyer announced that her will included a $12 million trust fund for her beloved white Maltese dog, Trouble. A judge reduced that award to $2 million, and Trouble did indeed live well until his death in December of

Leona Helmsley (July 4, – August 20, ) was an Americanbusinesswoman. She was known for having a flamboyant personality. She had a reputation for tyrannical behavior; she was nicknamed the Queen of Mean.

She owned many hotels, apartment buildings and condominiums.

Helmsley was found guilty in of tax evasion, false personal tax returns and mail fraud. She served some time in prison for the crimes.

Helmsley was born in Marbletown, New York. She died from heart failure at age 87 in Greenwich, Connecticut.

References

1. ↑"Leona Helmsley, Hotel Queen, Dies at 87". New York Times. Retrieved Jan 24,
2. ↑"Frauds & Swindles". Legal Information Institute. Retrieved Jan 24,
3. ↑"Leona Helmsley Dies". NBC News. Retrieved Jan 24,