It’s enough to make you puke. The AP reports that the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are being financially squeezed because of legal jousting over the late philanthropist Brooke Astor’s estate. There apparently are two wills involved; a 1997 document and a second from 2002 that benefits her son instead of the charities included in the ’97 paper. Certain family members claim she was feeble minded when writing the ’02 draft, so it’s not binding.
The woman left behind $200 million—to me that seems enough to go around, but I guess not. Even the judge is disgusted, asking opposing councils to hurry up and cut a deal so the money again can flow to Astor’s beloved charities.
Scott Fitzgerald once observed that “the rich are different.” Yes, they’re greedier than the rest of us.
