HEIRESS "HUGUETTE CLARK" - Part III

William Andrews Clark died in 1925; three years later Huguette married William Gower, a law student of little means. The marriage was short-lived and in 1931 Huguette moved to Reno, Nevada to obtain a divorce. Reports say that the divorce made tabloid headlines. After the divorce Huguette retreated to her home on Fifth Avenue; perhaps it was the tabloids that caused Huguette to withdraw from public life. It is said that her French dolls, servants and a few close friends were the only ones to see her. It is as though Huguette has regressed back to childhood. It was at this time that Huguette began to show signs of eccentricity. The eccentricity would increase with the death of her mother and Huguette became even more isolated.

Huguette bought many properties that she has never stayed in. She has property in New Canaan, a $100 million dollar family mansion in Santa Barbara, California that she stopped visiting and her 42 room apartment on Fifth Avenue. Huguette continues to employee staff to care for these prosperities. Many of these employees have never seen their employer. The Sana Barbara property is filled with pictures of her older sister Andree.

After spending most of her life avoiding the public glare Huguette has been thrust into the limelight after family members asked the authorities to look into the health and well-being of their aunt. They are seeking protection for Huguette from her lawyer, Wallace Bock and her accountant, a convicted felon, Irving H. Kamsler. Mr. Bock and Mr. Kamsler have been in charge of Huguette's financial affairs for some time and they have kept Huguette's extended family away. It is being reported that Mr. Bock and members of his family have received expensive and excessive "gifts" from the elderly Huguette who may be suffering from Alzheimer's. Twenty years ago Huguette was taken from her Fifth Avenue home, she was said to be frail but not ill and she remains in a New York Hospital.

Huguette is estimated to be worth $500 million dollars; let's hope that she is being looked after and not fleeced. The Manhattan DA's office of Elder Abuse is currently looking into Huguette's finances and hoping to meet with her.