The Fate of Huguette Clark’s Dolls

Lots of Doll News today: Huguette Clark, the fascinating “reclusive heiress” who died last month at 104 with an estate worth $400 million, has apparently left her valuable doll collection to her “nurse and close friend,” Hadassah Peri.

She will get Mrs. Clark’s hundreds of dolls, potentially worth millions of dollars. Ms. Peri will also receive 60 percent of the various assets, worth about $40 million, including investments and much of her real estate holdings, not specifically bequeathed in the will. Mrs. Clark’s goddaughter, Wanda Styka, will get 25 percent.

Meanwhile, “Most of Mrs. Clark’s assets will go into a foundation that will be established to promote the arts.” But who is Hadassah Peri? “Hadassah Peri, 60, is an immigrant from the Philippines and a registered nurse,” per this MSNBC article. She also made this official statement regarding the controversial bequest:

I saw Madame Clark virtually every day for the 20 years. I was her private duty nurse but also her close friend. I knew her as a kind and generous person, with whom I shared many wonderful moments and whom I loved very much. I am profoundly sad at her passing, awed at the generosity she has shown me and my family, and eternally grateful. Just as Madame Clark demonstrated kindness toward others in her actions, so, too, will I and my family devote a substantial portion of this bequest toward making the world a better place for all people.

Madame Clark!