Leona Helmsley, the woman who gave us one of the most memorable tax quotes ever, died today.
The hotel magnate who will forever be known as the "Queen of Mean" was 87. She passed away at her summer home in Greenwich, Conn.
The full quote : "We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes."
It was overhead by a maid and subsequently recounted in testimony during Helmsley’s 1989 trial for tax evasion, for which she was convicted and eventually served 18 months in prison.
Helmsley denied saying it, but she was never able to disassociate herself from the modern American version of "Let them eat cake."
Earlier this year, she was ranked 369th on Forbes‘ annual list of richest people, with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion.
You can see a celluloid version of Helmsley’s life in the made-for-TV movie, Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean. Lucky Leona; Suzanne Pleshette played her in the film.
Roth & Company, P.C.
THEY’RE BOTH INEVITABLE, LEONA, EVEN FOR BIG PEOPLE
Leona Helmsley, the hotelier who achieved infamy when it was reported during her tax evasion trial that she said “only…