Former residence of Leona Helmsley comes to the market
Leona Helmsley didn’t do “little”. She lived by the belief that “only the little people pay taxes” and housed herself in a vast mansion on a 40-acre plot in Connecticut. Helmsley died at the house in 2007 and it is now once again for sale through David Ogilvy & Associates.
A notoriously tyrannical hotelier and real estate tycoon, Helmsley served 19 months in prison after being sentenced to 16 years in jail for federal tax evasion in 1989. Her husband, Harry, was deemed too sick to stand trial.
Mr and Mrs Helmsley purchased the 17,493 square foot Dunnellen Hall in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1983 for £6.5 million ($11 million). It includes 9 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and was built in 1916. After her death, her estate sold the property for £20.1 million ($35 million) in 2010.
The current owners have completely refurbished Dunnellen Hall and seek £38.6 million ($65 million) for it. Their agent, David Ogilvy, told the New York Daily News:
“A new buyer will experience 40 years of open rolling lawns surrounding this fabulous, virtually new brick manor with memorable distant views of Long Island Sound to the south… The house itself has been totally renovated from top to bottom. It is essentially an entirely new house, yet with the character of a bygone era”.
Another of the realtors dealing with the sale of Dunnellen Hall added: “[The renovation] took it from looking like a museum to becoming a home”. Ouch: What a snub to “The Queen of Mean”.
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I met Leona Hemsley and her husband Harry, when I lived in New York. I had an apartment at Fifty First and Third. They, at that time, lived in The Helmsley Palace Hotel. Though, initially, she disliked me. She came to be enamoured by my English accent. She was without doubt a woman who merited the title ‘bitch’. She would have won any day at Crufts.
One encounters such distinguished folk voicing their opinions on these pages!
Oh, stop being an envious Taffy. Just because you are stuck in the Valleys singing and meeting no one interesting is no reason to be jealous who get out and about. Your Welsh need to stop whining and thick about devolving totally.
The place looks amazing! if it was slightly cheaper I would buy it 🙂