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Leona Helmsley gave it all to the dogs—or between $5 to $8 billion of it anyway. According to the Times today, the Queen of Mean specified that nearly her entire fortune should go toward the care and welfare of dogs. (You'll also recall that she left $12 million to her dog, Trouble; a judge later reduced it to $2 million.) Helmsley's family has been consumed with selling off her real estate holdings and has yet to speak out about the mammoth gift; they only just recently hired a philanthropic advisory service to help them decide how to allocate the dough. But according to the Times, even if Leona's trust is only valued at $5 billion (and it's expected to substantially higher), that is still "10 times the combined assets of all 7,381 animal-related nonprofit groups" who reported to the IRS in 2005. Leona's will didn't specify which specific dog-related causes the money should go to, which means her family may use the money to finance veterinary schools animal shelters. But we've got some better ideas!

With the $5 billion, Leona's family could:

  • Keep 34,482,758 pooches warm and dry in Burberry raincoats.
  • Ensure 961,538 dogs could live stress-free with a year's worth of dog-yoga classes at the East Yoga Center.
  • Send 1 million big city pups (and their owners) to The Gansevoort South Beach for a week, where pooches can enjoy a basket of toys, treats, and a doggy bed made of 100% Egyptian cotton embroidered with each dog's name.
  • Help every dog in America smell better by putting the money towards 100 million bottles of Le Chien dog perfume.
  • Send 7.2 million adventurous doggies on weeklong trips to the Ruffin' It lodge in Wisconsin, where the canines stay in private villas and enjoy nightly slumber parties.
  • Turn 8.4 million dogs into fashionistas with a Gucci dog carrier.