Banking Bad: Brooke Astor, and When Financial Abuse Hits Home
Banking Bad: Brooke Astor, and When Financial Abuse Hits Home
The Wallet podcast is back, and we’ve got something new in store for you. You’re familiar with our interviews with financial experts, money enthusiasts, and top investing lessons, but we decided to spruce things up a bit and do something different. Over the next 6 weeks, we’re introducing a series titled 'Banking Bad' - an entirely new format! Get ready for tales of socialite financial abuse, debt struggles, gambling addictions, the rollercoaster world of meme stock investors, and true financial crime stories.
In today’s episode, we cover one of America’s most prominent cases of financial abuse. Brooke Astor was a well-known figure in New York high society and one of the 20th century's great philanthropists. Over the next three decades, she oversaw $195 million dollars worth of grants to organisations and charities including the Bronx Zoo, the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and various charities supporting the homeless. However, when she began displaying signs of dementia, the situation took a different turn.
You'll hear from Brooke's grandson, Philip, about the personal financial crime that unfolded within his own family. He started his own investigation, questioning staff and realised that a significant amount of money has been moved around and legal documents have been altered.
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You can listen (26 min) and subscribe here:
This episode contains some sensitive topics, please listen with care.
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Brooke’s Background
“Philip hired an attorney and showed them a binder with power of attorneys, healthcare proxies, and financial material that he had received from staff at the Vincent Foundation. The lawyer told him that it was bad. Philip started investigating and discovered that a significant amount of money had been moved around, checks had been signed, and legal documents had been altered. The person signing off on all of this was his father, who was in his eighties and had a younger wife who knew she wasn’t going to get anything.”
Brooke was born into a family with a bad reputation as slumlords of New York, real estate and fur trappers. Her father, John Henry Russell Jr., was a U.S. major general and 16th commandant of the Marine Corps. He often took the family along when he was assigned to China, Hawaii, and Panama. Brooke was an only child with an incredible imagination. She loved to read, write, and draw.
Brooke grew up and got married to her first husband shortly after her 17th birthday. That relationship was abusive, and she ended up getting divorced. In the process, she had her only child, her son, who would later become the father of the person who asked me to create this blog post. Brooke agonized over feeling that she had borne a child out of marital rape.
Brooke then married “the love of her life,” Charles Marshall or Buddy Marshall. Unfortunately, Buddy died all too early of a heart attack.
Despite her difficult early life, Brooke became a style icon and philanthropist with star power that could be compared to modern celebrities like Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian.
Vincent Astor was Brooke’s third husband. They got married in 1953, the year Brooke’s grandchild was born. Vincent had established the Vincent Astor Foundation out of his own personal goal to alleviate human misery. When Vincent died in the late 1950s, he left behind $120 million. Half of that went into a trust for Brooke’s benefit.
The board of the Vincent Astor Foundation was all male. They offered their condolences to Brooke and told her that they would take care of the foundation while she went off to Baden-Baden for the waters. But Brooke had other plans. She declared that she would be president of the foundation at the age of 57 and became suddenly rich.
The Vincent Astor Foundation
Philip C. Marshall, Brooke’s grandson
Brooke Astor, as the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, visited every project in the Bronx, Harlem, Staten Island, and Manhattan. She believed that money is like money and it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around. Brooke wanted to spend the foundation’s money on education, children, and social services. Over the next three decades, she oversaw approximately $185 million worth of grants to organizations and charities, including the Bronx Zoo, the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and various charities supporting the homeless.
However, from Philip’s personal point of view, Brooke was clueless about money. She didn’t have the wherewithal to understand it. She let other people manage her finances. When she became president of the foundation, she was not going to be demure about what she could do with the foundation’s money.
Brooke’s Son, Anthony
Her son, Anthony Marshall, was a theatrical producer, CIA intelligence officer, and ambassador.
Anthony he worked with the CIA for several years before becoming a diplomat and ambassador. He loved Africa and had done a lot of work there in the fifties. By the sixties and seventies, he was well qualified to be an ambassador to Kenya and Trinidad and Tobago separately in the Caribbean. He had also done work in Nigeria for decades.
However, he was convicted of tricking his late mother out of millions and changing her will while she was incompetent and suffering from Alzheimer’s in her final years.
Financial Abuse
Philip and his grandmother Brooke
Brooke, who is now ninety years old, is showing signs of dementia and is at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Her son Anthony has obtained her power of attorney, which is a legal document that allows him to make decisions on her behalf, even if she is no longer able to do so herself.
It seems that Brooke’s son had been managing her finances since the late seventies and Philip, her grandson, noticed something suspicious.
In addition, it appears that Brooke’s son was screening visitors to her home and only allowing a select few to visit her. is a sign of elder abuse or neglect.
Philip, who was one of the few people allowed to visit Brooke, noticed that she was fearful when he tried to put back a book about her childhood. Another time, he saw a photograph of her grandfather above the mantel surround, instead of her favorite painting called Flags Fifth Avenue, which was supposed to go to the Met. Philip started keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and talked to the butlers, maids, and nurses to find out if they had seen anything strange going on.
Philip hired an attorney and showed them a binder with power of attorneys, healthcare proxies, and financial material that he had received from staff at the Vincent Foundation. The lawyer told him that it was bad. Philip started investigating and discovered that a significant amount of money had been moved around, checks had been signed, and legal documents had been altered. The person signing off on all of this was his father, who was in his eighties and had a younger wife who knew she wasn’t going to get anything.
Brooke’s son started changing her will and transferring tens of millions of dollars to his control, which raised red flags along the way. When a secretary challenged him about a check he had signed, he said he could do whatever he wanted and no one could stop him. Philip had two options: keep quiet and hope to inherit some of the money or challenge his father and shatter the family. Philip decided to take his father down, and the battle began. None of the estate had been settled by then, so tens of millions of dollars that Brooke wanted to go to charity were at risk.
What Philip Did Next
Philip, Brooke Astor’s grandson, testified against his father in a six-month criminal trial in 2009. Over 70 witnesses were called by the Manhattan DA, but Philip’s father called no witnesses. During the trial, Philip discovered that his father sold a painting for $10 million and pocketed a commission of $1 million. He was also accused of using his mother like his own ATM.
Through the testimony and presentation of evidence, Philip started putting together pieces that he had discovered over the past few years. According to his father’s third wife, he was sent away to school at age eight and deserved better. She meant that his grandmother’s influence was waning and a new woman had come into his life, making him happy but knowing that if he dies first, Philip would get nothing.
Philip tried to keep the trial private, but the press soon got hold of the story. The next day on the front page was a disaster for Mrs. Astor. The folks who were really helping Philip tried their best to seal all the proceedings from public and lots of money was spent on this. After six months, the trial came to an end. Philip’s father was convicted on 14 out of 16 counts, and all but one was upheld on appeal. His father ended up spending two months in prison and was released on parole.
Philip believes his grandmother was victimised. He mentioned that women are more likely to be abused and that over 70% of the people who call for help to assist someone who is being abused are women. Philip founded the Wiser Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement through Beyond Brooke.
Financial Abuse Awareness
Financial abuse is a form of domestic abuse and is a way of having power over you. It involves someone else controlling your spending or access to cash, assets and finances
It can take different forms and can happen to anyone of any age. Abusers can be partners, ex-partners, family members or others, such as carers.
Some signs of financial abuse are: unusual or inappropriate transactions on your bank statements, being unable to access cash or accounts, being pressured into giving your money to others or changing your will, having money or assets stolen or misused, and being prevented from working or studying.
If you think you are being financially abused, you are not alone. There are places to go for help and support, such as MoneyHelper, Age UK, and Citizens Advice. They can offer you advice, guidance, and practical support on how to deal with financial abuse and how to leave safely if you need to.
You can also protect yourself from financial abuse by using tech tools that can track your bank accounts, investments and credit cards, and detect suspicious activity.
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RESOURCES:
Financial and domestic abuse help (UK):
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OTHER EPISODES OF BANKING BAD:
#1 Brooke Astor, and When Financial Abuse Hits Home
#2 Tulip Mania, The Greatest Bubble Story of All Time
#3 How I Ended Up £250,000 in Debt
#4 Surviving the Dotcom Bubble with Martha Lane Fox of Lastminute.com
#5 GameStop, How Reddit Users Brought Wall Street to its Knees