Whatever Happened to Huguette Clark....Dead at 104

Huguette Clark 1932

Huguette with her father and sister

Huguette and her father William A Clark

What happened to Huguette Clark? Huguette M Clark was 15 in 1922; that makes her 104 this year. Clark’s father was William A Clark. Clark was a senator. He got rich through copper and he was known as the 'copper king' while he was alive. Clark was then the second richest man in America. His wealth was second  only to that of Rockefeller.

William Clark’s first wife, Kate, died in 1893. They had 4 grown children. In 1901, Clark , 62, married Anna Eugenia La Chapelle, 23. Their daughters were Andree Clark, born in 1902 and Huguette Clark, born in 1906. Andree Clark died in 1919, one week before her 17th birthday. Andree’s cause of death was meningitis. Huguette Clark, 22, married William Gower, 23, on Aug 18, 1928. Two years later, she divorced Gower. The grounds for divorce was allegedly due to desertion.

In 1928, Huguette Clark, then about 21-22 years old, was the owner of the Clark Estate, in Santa Barbara, which contained a salt water pond. Ms Clark donated $50,000 to excavate the pond and create an artificial freshwater lake. Huguette Clark named the place the Andree Clark Bird Refuge, in memory of her deceased sister. The Clark family donated more money to complete the project.

Huguette Clark has many mansions across America. Her houses were left empty for decades. Ms Clark was not seen for many years. No one really knows where Huguette Clark lived.  Ms Clark does not have any known heirs. it is not known to whom or what she will leave her fortune.

Huguette has a mansion called the Bellosguardo, in Santa Barbara, Ca. The property is worth approximately 100 million. Care takers worked at the Clark property for many years but have not met any of the Clark family. Ms Clark also has a large property in Connecticut but never lived there. Clark was only seen a few times in 30 years in her large New York apartment.

Wallace Brock, her attorney, received instructions via phone.  Brock said her mind was clear up until her death. Brock refused to pass messages for an interview.
It was hinted that Ms Clark may be living in a nursing home or hospital. Her eyesight and hearing were failing as she approached 104. In July 2010, The Today Show traced the location of Huguette Clark. They maintained the privacy of Ms Clark and refused to reveal her location.

Ms Clark actually lived in a hospital room somewhere in New York. Clark entered the hospital because she wanted to be cared for. All that money and no one to care for her. One of her grand-nephews has been in contact with her. He said she had a clear mind and was aware of her surroundings. Ms Clark lost interest in her friends and the outside world and  became extremely reclusive by choice. After her mother died in 1963, Ms Clark slowly began withdrawing from her small circle of friends and family and  chose to live her life quietly, away from people and society.

Clarke’s home in Santa Barbara, named Bellosguardo, is worth $100 million. Clark has not lived in Bellosguardo since her mother died in 1963. No one has lived there, although, it has been kept in good repair. Her mansion in New Canaan, bought in 1952, is for sale for $24 million. Clark never used the mansion at all. It's hard to say who made the decision to sell, Clark or her legal reps.

Clark allegedly lived in the 42 rooms in her New York Fifth Avenue apartments for the past 3 or 4 decades. Clark owns all of the 8th floor apartments and half of the 12th floor apartments. Clark’s belongings are housed in the apartments.
Her household help have seen her, from a distance, but only for a handful of times during the last 30 years.
Huguette Clark has grew more solitary and eccentric since her voluntary withdrawal into her own personal world. She refused to see her distant relatives. Ms Clark told them to stand at the sidewalk, while she stood above them, in the comfort of her apartment, and she would wave at them.
Ms Clark was generous to the doormen at her apartment building. She gave each doorman a check for $500 at Christmas time. Her household staff had very little to say about Ms Clark. They had rarely seen her in the huge apartment of 42 rooms. Sometimes, they saw a thin, shadowy figure walking around. The last her building’s staff saw of  her was in the 1980s, when they said an ambulance came to fetch Ms Clark.

A historian who spoke to Ms Clark 6 years ago, over the phone, said she displayed a clarity of mind. Ms Clark was hard of hearing, but she spoke distinctly and could relate anecdotes from her younger days. It was known that she read the New York Times every day and was aware of the present issues in society.
People who asked to see Ms Clark were turned away by her lawyer, Mr Bock. Relatives sent cards and sometimes flowers or gifts but they received no indication that Clark ever recieved those gifts.

WILIAM CLARK:
Huguette’s father, William Andrews Clark Sr, lived from Jan 8 1839 to March 2 1925. William Clark was a businessman who made his fortune in mining, banking and railroads. Clark was so successful he turned his attention to becoming a politician. At his first attempt, Clark caused a scandal by buying votes to seat himself in the Senate. At his second attempt, Clark was successful and he became a Senator of Montana. Clark served from 1901 to 1907 and he was happy enough to step down after that term.
When William Clark’s mother died, he built a home to honor her memory. The Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home was built and operated by the YWCA for young working women. The Home was built with a grand architecture and became very popular when it opened in 1914. In 1987, the Whittier Narrows earthquake made the grounds and building unsafe to reside in. Restoration work was done and by 1995, the Home was re-opened. The Home became a mow cost housing project for needy people earning less than $17 650 per annum.
The Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home has been named as a Historic Cultural Monument by the LA Cultural Heritage Commission in 1976. The Home has been used as a location to film period films because of its architecture.

Mark Twain, an author, wrote an essay on William Clark. Twain criticized Clark heavily for his crooked practices. Clark passed away at the age of 86, in his home, in New York. After his death, Clark’s massive art collection was donated to a museum. William Clark had two wives. His first wife gave him several children. One son, William Andrews Clark Jr, donated a library of rare books to the University of California, the LA branch. Clark’s second wife was named Anna and she gave him two daughters, Huguette and her sister. There was a controversy at that time regarding William’s marriage to Anna as no marriage certificate was found regarding that union. Ian Devine and Carla Hall Friedman of New York and Karine Albert McCall of Washington DC claimed to be descendants of William Clark’s first marriage.

Tuesday May 24 2011 – Ms Huguette Clark died in hospital. She was104 years old.  Ms Clark last stayed at Beth Israel Medical Center. When she died, Clark left behind $500 million.
Huguette Clark was buried at her family mausoleum, in the Bronx, in New York. Her lawyer, Wallace Bock, banned relatives from attending her funeral. Bock said Ms Clark instructed him to hold a private funeral for her. Ms Clark was buried on May 26 2011.

The Manhattan District attorney’s assistant visited Ms Clark in hospital during 2010 – 2011, to talk to her, after her relatives alleged Ms Clark’s accountant and lawyer were not acting in her best interests. The Supreme Court has issued subpoenas for documents and it could be months before the investigation yields any results. Ms Clark’s will has not been filed by her lawyer.

A colorful, crooked old man and a mysterious reclusive centenarian with a fabulous fortune and a missing will. Just your typical American family.