The House of Astor Scandal: Father Against Son

December 13, 2007 by Michael Law
Filed under: Torts

Greed, money, and power versus family. Who wins?

In this tale concerning one of the greatest philanthropic ladies in New York, greed definitely wins out.

Millionaire Brooke Astor ruled the New York social scene for decades. Her late husband, Vincent Astor was the last heir as the descendant of legendary John Jacob Astor who made an amazing fortune by trading fur and by his deals in the New York real estate market. The book The Last Mrs Astor: A New York Story was based on Brooke Astor’s life.

In a shocking lawsuit, Brooke Astor’s grandson Philip Marshall, a college professor, has sued his father Anthony Marshall. Father v. Son, sad sad sad.

Anthony, who was Brooke’s legal guardian, was sued by his son Philip in order to have him removed as guardian due to neglect.

“My father…has turned a blind eye to her, intentionally and repeatedly ignoring her health, safety, personal and household needs,” says Philip Marshall in court documents. He says his father was “engaging in a consistent pattern of enriching himself at the expense of my grandmother.”

Anthony Marshall, who’s a Tony-winning Broadway producer from a previous marriage of Brooke Astor, has denied any mistreatment of his mother. However, research has found a tax return form for that has shown a 2005 income of $2,384,999.92 while having Brooke Russell Astor listed as his employer.

Wife of Oscar de la Renta to be legal guardian

Their endorsement for legal guardian of the Astor estate is for fellow philanthropist Annette de la Renta, who is the wife of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. Even Annette de la Renta has gotten into the act with her affidavit in the case file that claims that “because of the failure of Ms. Astor’s son, Anthony, to spend her money properly, the quality of life of Ms. Astor has been significantly eroded…her life is now restricted to one blue sitting room and her bedroom.”

What do the lawyers say in this House of Astor case?

They have a lot to say actually. Attorney Ira Salzman, who is representing Philip Marshall in the lawsuit, says that “Anthony Marshall has repeatedly refused to use his mother’s great wealth to provide for her basic needs. Mr. Marshall has refused to pay for any new clothing for his mother…the last time new underwear, brassieres, nightgowns and knee-high socks were purchased was in 2004.” He says that one of Astor’s servants would dress her in a scarf but was stopped “because Mr. Marshall was concerned about the $16.00 cleaning bill for each scarf.”

What do people close to Brooke Astor have to say? Who do they support?

Let’s hear from Christopher Ely, who was Astor’s former butler, country home manager, and driver who testified in this case in a written affidavit. “Mr. Anthony Marshall…would complain when he had to replace such things as the roof. He also objected to the costs of maintaining Ms. Astor. I think it is a tragedy that she is not being maintained in the style in which she has lived her entire life for whatever amount of time she has left.”

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Comments

2 Comments on The House of Astor Scandal: Father Against Son

LA on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 11:29 am

An industry exists in which lawyers, accountants and other unethical participants, sometimes with complicity from probate courts, can separate any of us from our property when certain (not that unusual) circumstances occur. These circumstances can be orchestrated and lead to an Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA). This often occurs with wills, trusts, guardianships or other probate-related situations.

To think that property and assets are your own and that you have control over their ultimate distribution is a mistake. The high profile nature of the Astor/Marshall families as well as the amount of money involved generate media interest in this case. Similar situations, however, occur on a regular basis.

A close study of this issue leads one to recognize that going to court is not a path that necessarily provides reasonable resolution. This course too easily leads to lawyers or administrators becoming the functional beneficiaries while the intended beneficiaries are left with reduced or no assets as well as potentially significant legal expenses.

With the transfer of wealth that is getting ready to occur in the next 20 or so years, the Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA)will likely skyrocket. People think proper estate planning will protect them – wrong! People think they don’t have enough assets to be a target – wrong!! There is no inoculation from the threat of IRA. Forewarned, however, is forearmed.

[Reply]

Malik (I am not part of the Astor Family) on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 6:08 pm

Perhaps there are others involved in the Astor family? Willy Astor? Fred Astor? Jack Astors? Mary Astor? Willi Astor? Astor Piazzolla or Astor Piazolla or Astor Piazzola (I don’t know the exact spelling)? What was Carl Astor’s involvement in this fraud?

Does the Astor family own the Astor Entertainment Center? Is there a Tom Astor biography? Maybe some mp3 of the music involved from the family scandal here?

Just a teary-filled saga of familial exploits exploited for all to learn from and never do again because how bad this can be for everyone who is involved in this mess of a relative against relative for the money only because of greed that flows in the river of cousins who are in the family tree of misbehavement who knew it would come to this just care for the grandma because it is in the best interest of everyone.

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