Leona Helmsley - After Prison

After Prison

Helmsley served 18 months in federal prison. Her later years were apparently spent in isolation, especially after Harry died in 1997, leaving Leona his entire fortune (including the Helmsley hotels, the Helmsley Palace and the Empire State Building), estimated to be worth well in excess of $5 billion.

Her few friends included Patrick Ward, Imelda Marcos, Rodrigo Handall, the Noriega family, and Kathy and Rick Hilton. A 2001 Chicago Sun-Times article depicted her as estranged from her grandchildren and with few friends, living alone in a lavish apartment with her dog. In 2002, Helmsley was sued by Charles Bell, a former employee who alleged that he was discharged solely for being homosexual. A jury agreed and ordered Mrs. Helmsley to pay Bell $11,200,000 in damages. A judge subsequently reduced this amount to $554,000.

She was forced to give up control of her hotel empire, since most of her hotels had bars and New York does not allow convicted felons to hold alcohol licenses. Mrs. Helmsley lived her final year at her luxurious penthouse atop the Park Lane hotel with views of Central Park.

Although Helmsley's reputation as the "Queen of Mean" is famous, she became generous in her charitable contributions after her prison term. After September 11, 2001, Helmsley donated $5 million to help families of New York firefighters. Other contributions included $25 million to New York–Presbyterian Hospital for medical research.