Billionaire hotelier Leona Helmsley, the so-called 'Queen of Mean' who famously said that "only little people pay taxes" and who later went to prison for tax evasion, died today at the age of 87.
Her epic fall from New York's high society to serving 18 months behind bars captured world attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Books were written about her and her story became a 1990 TV movie starring Suzanne Pleshette.
She denied uttering the famous quote which nonetheless became her hallmark.
Helmsley was a former model and twice-divorced real estate agent when she met Harry Helmsley, a multimillionaire real estate investor who was married at the time. They wed in 1972.
Real estate baroness Leona Helmsley in January 2003. Photo: Reuters/Chip East
At the couple's zenith, Harry Helmsley was worth $5 billion. His company controlled some of New York's finest hotels and managed the Empire State Building.
In advertisements, Leona was the welcoming spokeswoman of the couple's hotel chain and billed as "the queen" of the Helmsley Palace hotel.
But behind the scenes she was considered arrogant, quick-tempered and prone to shouting and firing employees on the spot. The image hurt her when the couple was charged with tax fraud in 1988 by then-US Attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Her own defense attorney described Helmsley as "one tough bitch," though others had kind words for her and some defenders said she would not have suffered such fierce criticism had she been a man.