Brooke Astor

News broke recently about a global settlement involving the estate of Brooke Astor.    The renowned New York society queen and philanthropist, who died at age 105, left behind an estate of nearly $200 million dollars.   Astor’s assets — along with the $50 million charitable trust of her late husband — have been tied up since she passed in 2007.  The fighting was so extensive that it dragged in a “who’s who” of top New York City institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art...Read Full Story

Ahoy There!  Brooke Astor – The late Brooke Astor, from the 1900s to 1950s, sailed trans-Atlantic on scores of famous liners including the SS Champlain.  These were not cruise ships but floating palaces known as ocean liners.  They would have had three or four classes of travel… First, Cabin, Tourist, 3rd Class and Steerage.  Brooke Astor sailed first or cabin.  Cabin before world WW2 was first class on many liners.  This is a type of service you will never see today on the floating condos...Read Full Story

Huguette Clark is a 104-year mysterious and reclusive New York multi-millionaire whose situation bears a striking resemblance to that of the late Brooke Astor.  Like with Astor, Clark is now the subject of a guardianship proceeding in New York brought by relatives who fear that she has been financially exploited.  Clark's fortune is estimated to be worth half a billion dollars.  Clark is the daughter, and only surviving child, of William Andrews Clark, who died in 1925 and was described as...Read Full Story

Social and Ocean Liner History: Brooke Astor sailed on scores of ocean liners from the 1910 into the 1950s.  This video looks at some of these great ocean liners. Roberta Brooke Astor (née Russell, previously Kuser and Marshall) (March 30, 1902 – August 13, 2007) was an American philanthropist and socialite who was the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, which had been established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, son of John Jacob Astor IV (who died in the sinking of the RMS...Read Full Story

The late Brooke Astor's Dachshunds, 'Girlsie' (left) and 'Boysie,' eat a gourmet meal at the Iris Love residence in Lincoln, Vermont, 2009 Archaeologist and Dachshundist Iris Love was dining with friends including Liz Smith and Helen Gurly Brown on Monday night when the subject of 'Girlsie' and 'Boysie' came up, the Dachshunds who belonged to the late Brooke Astor, and who are in the care of Iris Love.  NYMag reports:So how aaaare the Astor dachshunds — Boysie and Girlie — these days...Read Full Story

Anthony Marshall was sentenced to 1-to-3 years in prison Monday morning for looting his mother, Brooke Astor's $185 million fortune after she died 2 years ago. Marshall will begin his sentence January 19, allowing him to spend the holidays with family before going to jail. Not only did Marshall receive prison time, he was also admonished by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Kirke Bartley who actually said, "What would your mother say if she were here?" Brooke Astor, who lived to be 105, is...Read Full Story

When people acquire a lot of wealth and assets, it's especially important to think of the future with estate planning. If a person's plans are not meticulous, it can often lead to probate litigation. In any case, settling a large estate can take years. Take Brooke Astor as an example. The philanthropist and socialite died in August 2007 at the age of 105. At the time, her son Anthony Marshall, who is now 88, was accused of looting her estate. He was ultimately convicted of larceny charges...Read Full Story

As the case against Anthony Marshall, the son of the late socialite Brooke Astor, comes to a close, prosectuors have pulled out the big rhetorical guns. Assistant DA Joel Seidemann called Marshall and his wife "two morally depraved individuals," saying that wanted to steal the money Astor intended to help "ordinary New Yorkers." The closing arguments appeared to work, as a jury found Marshall and his wife Charlene guilty of defrauding his mother as she suffered with Alzheimer's during the...Read Full Story

MOUNT DESERT, Maine — College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor and high school students who live in the village of Northeast Harbor will end up getting funds from Brooke Astor’s estate, according to a court settlement reached last week.Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The bitter five-year battle over the estate of Brooke Astor, the socialite and philanthropist, was settled on Wednesday in a deal that allows $100 million to be dispensed to various charities, including New York parks, museums and schools.Read Full Story