NEW YORK – Brooke Astor, the civic leader, philanthropist and high society fixture who gave away nearly $200 million to support New York City’s great cultural institutions and a host of humbler projects, died Monday. She was 105.
Astor died of pneumonia at Holly Hill, her Westchester County estate, family lawyer Kenneth Warner said.
Although a legendary figure in New York City, Astor was mostly interested in putting the fortune that husband Vincent Astor left to use helping others.
Her efforts won her a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 1998.
“Money is like manure; it should be spread around,” was her oft-quoted motto. There has been a lot to spread in the family ever since Vincent Astor’s great-great-grandfather, John Jacob Astor, made a fortune in fur trading and real estate.
Brooke Astor gave millions to what she called the city’s “crown jewels” – among them the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, the Museum of Natural History, Central Park and the Bronx Zoo.
She also funded scores of smaller projects: Harlem’s Apollo Theater; a new boiler for a youth center; beachside bungalow preservation; a church pipe organ; furniture for homeless families moving into apartments.
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