Yesterday was a grey and rainy day in New York. In the late afternoon, the sky had that white-grey you see before a snowfall, evoking nostalgia, but it was not nearly cold enough for even flurries.
New York magazine this week has a cover story by Steve Fishman about the last days of Brooke Astor and The Will. And the Son. And the Daughter-in-law. And Annette. As in de la Renta. None of it is new, even the things that have not yet seen print until now. The son, Tony Marshall, when in charge of his mother’s estate (when she was still compos mentis), had increased its value from $19 to $82 million. He was compensated by her for it ($450,000 a year) and she also gave him several million and an apartment and eventually her estate in Maine. By the time of her death, her entire estate was worth many millions with her son her principal heir.
The main issue of contention seems to be some codicils which Mrs. Astor allegedly added in a sound state of mind in the early 2000s. These substantially cut her bequests to the Metropolitan Museum and to the New York Public Library, both of which had already received substantial sums during her lifetime (the Library received about $25 million from her and the Vincent Astor Foundation). These reductions would benefit Mrs. Astor’s son, the most, and of course, his wife Charlene as his widow (Mr. Marshall at 83 is 20 years senior to his wife).
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Brooke Astor |
There’s a villain in every corner, depending on how you look at it. It’s either the Marshalls, or Philip Marshall the grandson who first complained to Mrs. de la Renta about his grandmother’s neglected care, or the forces of Mrs. de la Renta and Henry Kissinger and David Rockefeller which are questioning the final Will. Or the 52 lawyers (that’s right, FIFTY-TWO!) who all will be billing with their nominal fees. These are all big time lawyers too, so you can be sure that they have already eaten up millions and millions of the Astor estate. You can also be sure that before this is over the lawyers’ fees will exceed what Mrs. Astor was originally going to leave to the Met and the Library.
The New York article dwells on the Marshalls’ side of the story since they were available to the reporter and Mrs. de la Renta wisely was not. So there is speculation such as “why” Mrs. de la Renta was so concerned about Mrs. Astor’s welfare. Charlene Marshall is quoted as suggesting that Annette de la Renta was social-climbing in her relationship with the much admired dowager. This is, of course, utter nonsense. The truth of that matter is probably far more complex than you or I will ever know.
One thing is certain: after a long life as the only child of this powerful woman (in terms of personality and drive, the Astor fortune notwithstanding), the octogenarian son has been held up to public scrutiny and embarrassment about his caring for his mother, as if he were less than loving and attentive over a long lifetime. No doubt his mother would have shared his horror of airing the family laundry in public also.
For a man of Tony Marshall’s generation, upbringing and culture, this matter must be deeply wounding. It is acknowledged that his mother was right-minded about parenting, and supportive, but not exactly as warm and fuzzy a mother as she was a social doyenne who loved the limelight and the public adoration. Her son and only child was also never the center of her attention, as her own memoirs attest. That was the nature of the woman. Meanwhile, the son’s most distinguishing characteristic was one of service and responsibility. He was an obedient all his life, acceding to his mother’s wishes and needs. He was also a dutiful Marine and later an Ambassador (to Madagascar under Nixon). His mother’s influence apparently was everywhere.
All of this has been reduced to public judgments of neglect and greed and an ineffectual personality by others who are not members of Mrs. Astor’s family.
As I’ve pointed out in previous postings, the Astor fortune has historically been plagued by this sort of thing. Nobility reigns in the minds of the pursuers and family members are plagued by outsiders. Brooke Russell Kuser Marshall Astor was regarded as an “outsider” by many members of her late husband’s clan. She was criticized by members of the family for it. It was assumed by outsiders, however, that these family members were just jealous that they’d been left out of Vincent Astor’s Will. And maybe that was the bottom line. And maybe it wasn’t.
When you get to the end of the Fishman article you will see that it has nothing to do with Mrs. Astor’s last days (which were relatively peaceful and comfortable compared to many others of her generation). You will see that it’s simply all the about the money for all of the players. Including the virtual army of lawyers. Mr. Dickens would have loved this one. |
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