Phoenix Journal 208 - Four Winds 10

Excerpted from THE DAILY NEWS, Los Angeles, 6/19/97, [quoting:]
After a turbulent decade at the head of New York City’s largest real estate empire, Leona Helmsley said
Wednesday that she intended to sell most or perhaps all of the properties, valued at close to $4 billion.
The Helmsley empire, assembled over a lifetime by her now-deceased husband, Harry Helmsley, regarded
as one of the shrewdest deal-makers in the real estate industry, includes 125 properties in several
cities, concentrated most heavily in New York, where it includes dozens of Manhattan apartment houses,
the Graybar Building and more than 10 other midtown office towers, hotels and an assortment of properties
ranging from warehouses in Queens to lofts in Manhattan’s garment district.
Helmsley’s decision comes amid a bitter falling out with business associations of her husband, who died in
January after a 10-year illness, during which he effectively retired and left the management of his holdings
to his wife.
The timing of Wednesday’s announcement may reflect a keen sense of market timing on the part of Helmsley,
because investor interest in many of the properties held in the Helmsley portfolio is considered stronger
than at any time since the early 1980s., particularly in New York City.
“She has plenty of money, and this is not a liquidation,” said Benjamin Lambert, the chairman of Eastdil
Realty Inc. who has been hired by Helmsley as broker and coordinator for the property sales. “But strong
markets don’t last forever, and I think we will be moving quickly.”
Other real estate executives said Helmsley’s announcement would provoke a torrent of offers, particularly
from real estate investment trusts and Wall Street investment houses that have emerged over the past
decade as the nation’s most aggressive investors in large properties, superseding individual entrepreneurs
of the past, like Helmsley.
Although the precise value of the holdings could not be determined, Lambert’s firm estimated that all the
Helmsley properties across the nation had a combined value of $5 billion. Other executives said that
would make it one of the largest privately held real estate empires in the nation. [End quoting]
What a waste if she doesn’t invest some of these funds into projects for truly helping humanity.
WOODY, HE’S NO DOPE
Excerpted from THE DAILY NEWS, Los Angeles, 7/4/97, [quoting:]
Woody Harrelson and his mother, Diane, greet fans as they leave the courthouse in Irvine, Kentucky. A
judge ruled in favor of the actor who argued that his arrest for planting four seeds of industrial-grade hemp
was unconstitutional.
Hemp is related to marijuana but is not psychoactive. [End quoting]
An article was published in the News Desk a few months back about the extraordinary value of this type
of hemp plant. This appears to be a small victory, but the Elite act as though they do not want this to be
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