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| US property tycoon Helmsley dies | US property tycoon Helmsley dies |
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| US property tycoon Leona Helmsley, who famously said "only the little people pay taxes" and later went to jail for tax evasion, has died aged 87. | US property tycoon Leona Helmsley, who famously said "only the little people pay taxes" and later went to jail for tax evasion, has died aged 87. |
| Mrs Helmsley died of heart failure at her summer home in Greenwich, Connecticut, her publicist said. | Mrs Helmsley died of heart failure at her summer home in Greenwich, Connecticut, her publicist said. |
| Mrs Helmsley and her late husband Harry had run a multi-billion dollar real estate business that included managing New York's Empire State Building. | |
| In 1992, she was convicted of tax evasion, spending 21 months in prison. | In 1992, she was convicted of tax evasion, spending 21 months in prison. |
| The Helmsleys were accused of listing personal expenses as business expenses to hide income. | |
| A judge ruled that Mr Helmsley was not mentally competent to stand trial, but Mrs Helmsley was convicted of evading $1.2m in taxes. | |
| During the trial, Mrs Helmsley's former housekeeper famously testified that she had heard Mrs Helmsley say: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." | |
| Mrs Helmsley denied ever saying that. | |
| However, she was noted for her tough management style and became widely known in the US media as "the queen of mean". | |
| Mrs Helmsley, a former model and a real estate agent, married Harry Helmsley, a multi-millionaire real estate investor, in 1972. | |
| Mr Helmsley died in 1997, aged 87, leaving his wife his entire fortune. She is survived by her brother, four grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. | |
| Forbes magazine ranked her the 369th richest person in the world, with an estimated fortune of $2.5bn. |