Dying Rich, Dying Alone

Recently in the news there have been stories about Hugette Clark's passing. But the many articles seem not to be talking about her life; more so, they talked about the money. The money she left behind, how much money she left behind, who will inherit the money she left behind, etc... Huguette Clark was the daughter of William A. Clark, a U.S. senator and Gilded Age copper magnate from Montana, who was reputed to be one of the two richest industrialists in the United States, rivaled only by John D. Rockefeller. She died recently alone in a New York hospital. She had apparently not left far her huge NYC apartment for 23 years never once visiting the estate in New Canaan, Connecticut that she bought in 1952 (its for sale at $24 million). In total she is estimated to be worth $500 million. To read more about her click here or here. But I think the most intriguing and sad thing is that she died alone. Apparently it was Ms Clark's specific wishes and instructions that no funeral service or mass be held. She even forbid any family to know when she was being buried. The only people at her burial were the funeral workers.

It is now unclear what will happen to her estate seeing that she has no children, was married only for a brief time, and has cut ties with relatives. These relatives have gone to court numerous times because they suspect the Ms. Clark's attorney and accountant, the only 2 people she kept contact with, took advantage of her wealth.

When I read about her I immediately thought, "Great Gatsby". He also died with boatloads of money and only a few people came to his funeral. Even Mr. Wolfsheim, whom we were led to believe was his friend, didn't want to go to his funeral. It seems as though when a person's wealth gets so astronomically large, they become business. What I mean by that is people are only in Gatsby's life for money and business not to be his friend. He gained attention because of his money which is now the same with Huguette Clark who is receiving attention because of her fortune and questions surrounding its fate. It's amazing how people can turn into money in the eyes of the world. I bet that if there was no mystery surrounding her fortune, Huguette's death would not have received nearly as much notoriety.