Helmsley’s Connecticut estate sells for $35M

Leona Helmsley’s Greenwich, Conn. estate has sold for $35 million, less than a third of its original $125 million listing price and 36 percent off its last asking price of $55 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Still, the sale makes Dunnellen Hall, as the 40-acre property is called, one of the most expensive homes ever sold in the posh town. The property, acquired by the Helmsley family in 1983 for $11 million, includes a 22,000-square-foot mansion, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts and two guest cottages. It was at the center of a federal tax evasion case in which Helmsley and her husband, Harry, were accused of putting $3 million of their company’s funds into renovations of the property. Leona Helmsley, who was convicted and served under two years in prison, died in 2007 at age 87. Proceeds from the sale of the Greenwich estate will go to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, which owns much the couple’s real estate holdings, including a stake in the Empire State Building with the Malkin family that is reportedly up for sale. [WSJ]