Leona Helmsley's Dog, Trouble, Dies Leaving $2 Mil Estate

The Helmsley family trust revealed Thursday that Leona Helmsley’s infamous Maltese “Trouble” died at age 12 back in December. Trouble was known for being left a $12 million inheritance after death of Helmsley, an '80s icon who went to jail for tax evasion after she declared that "taxes were for the little people." A judge later cut the sum down to $2 million, which the dog’s caretaker, Carl Lekic, general manager of the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel in Florida, said would be perfectly adequate.

According to Lekic, Trouble had $100,000 in living expenses per year, including $8,000 for grooming and $1,200 for food, as well as a security guard. Trouble had received between 20 and 30 death and dog-napping threats.

Trouble isn’t the only dog to receive such extravagant perks; heiress Gail Posner left her $8.3 million home and $3 million trust to her dogs. Even Oprah reportedly had paperwork drawn up in 2007 to leave approximately $30 million dollars to her pets in the event that they outlive her.