Left: a young Huguette Clark. Right: Huguette’s love for dolls would take an obsessive turn later in life. Below: selections from a recent auction of the Clark estate.
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The invisible heiress and the half-blood princes A year after the reclusive eccentric’s death, the fight for the estate of Huguette Clark continues to generate headlines — and it’s all thanks to Las Vegas By David Mckee
30 | Desert
Companion | MAY 2012
A massive fortune made in Clark County is slowly being scattered to the four winds, in accordance with what is surely among the most hotly disputed wills of the 21st century. Reclusive heiress Huguette Clark, daughter of the man who literally sold Las Vegas, died on May 24, 2011, a fortnight shy of her 105th birthday. She left an estate worth $400 million. A year later, it remains a treasure over which distant relatives continue to battle with Mme. Clark’s business associates amid mounting rancor. When the will was opened on June 22, 2011, it was discovered that the Francophonic lady had left nary a franc to any of the other
H u g u e t t e C la r k : P R O P ERT Y O F T H E E S TATE O F H UGUETTE M . C L A RK , C O URTE S Y O F C H R I S T I E ’ S ; C L ippi n g C o u r t e sy of Th e W illiam A n d r e ws C la r k M e mo r ial L i b r a r y, U C L A ; J E W E L S a n d Ev e n i n g b a g : C H R I S T I E ’ S I M A GE S LTD . 2 0 1 2
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