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Poor Little Rich Girl: The Life and Legend of Barbara Hutton
A portrait of Barbara Hutton, who was one of the world's wealthiest women, details her glamorous and decadent lifestyle, bouts with alcoholism and anorexia, love affairs, seven marriages, dissipation of her fortune, and death, based on her personal journals
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
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About the author
C. David Heymann
31 books29 followersC. David Heymann is the internationally known author of such New York Times bestselling books as The Georgetown Ladies' Social Club; RFK: A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy; Poor Little Rich Girl: The Life and Legend of Barbara Hutton; and A Woman Named Jackie: An Intimate Biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Three of his works have been made into award-winning NBC-TV miniseries. A three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, he lives and works in Manhattan.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 13, 2014
David Niven, one of the men Barbara Hutton dated, described her in his memoir as a "petite snub-nosed blonde, very pretty American girl with the smallest feet I had ever seen...She was gay, a sparkling creature, full of life and laughter." Her closest friends called her a woman of charm, sensitivity, wit, dignity and taste, but her female friends thought that she lacked self-esteem and self-control. This was the image of young Barbara Hutton. As she began to marry and divorce men, life took a toll on her personality. Cary Grant, her third husband recalled that she had interest in poetry, spirituality and dance, and used as an expression that her life didn't provide. Grant cared for Barbara and also her son Lance, which none of her spouses or boyfriends provided. After she was finished with Cary, she stopped finding the right man and started to lead life as it came. She was always on the gossip columns of major newspapers by her extravaganza life styles and care free spending on men of her life. She surrounded herself with a consortium of fawning parasites; European titles, a maharaja or two, sheikhs, and swarm of gays. Cary Grant once said if one phonier Earl had entered the house he would have suffocated. Men were chief stimulus for Barbara Hutton; she bought and sold them, bartered them or replaced them in much the same way a stockbroker operates in the Exchange. She was always in love with several men but real love was her greatest rarities. She divided men into two categories; those she loved and those she took to bed. Her marriages were essentially sexless (sleeping in two separate bedrooms) and her affairs were bereft of love. Her inability to combine the two forces in one man kept her going from one husband to another. Philip Reed, one of the struggling actors she dated, claimed that Barbara Hutton was incapable of sustaining a relationship; that sooner or later she became bored and restless and wanted to leave the relationship yearning for anther man's love. In later part of her life, she became restless and an insomniac. She wrote poetry incessantly or called friends in NY, LA, London, or Tangier, whatever the local time is at these places. Her moods changed from good to bad instantly and haunted her friends. At this time she started developing severe dependency on prescription drugs and controlled substances. At one time her doctor confirmed that she was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Once on her trip from Mexico to NY, she tried to force open the emergency exit and hurl herself out of the airliner. She had difficulty remembering the names of all her husbands and once she said that she doesn't like to walk (for exercise) because she can afford to pay others to do her walking!
Barbara Hutton eventually moved to Beverly Wiltshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. At this stage she was like a dead matter; her lawyers, doctors and business advisors had swindled her to the last few dollars. Barbara's personal business counselor Mattison was on the top of the list in misappropriating her inheritance. She still wanted to invite friends for a meal but no one wanted to know her. Every gigolo and a fortune hunter in town learnt of her routine of going to the hotel bar until 3 AM and she was subjected all kinds of tricks from guys to lure her into bed and access to her fortune. On top of that a steady flow of 19 year old beach boys were paid $1,000 a night to keep her company in her hotel bedroom. At the time of her death at 66, she had $3,500 in her checking account.
There were many good sides to Barbara Hutton. She knitted sweaters and socks to raise money for the rehabilitation of disabled French soldiers during WWII and made donations to recruit volunteers to fly war missions for England against German war machine. She was an outspoken advocate of American intervention in the war and did active telephone campaign and took newspaper ads to raise money for contributions to British war chest. She was poetess in her own right, and her first volume, "The enchanted" was published and contained 79 poems. She found solace in the poetry of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. In spite of hundreds of men in her life, the great folly was that she could sense the future but she did nothing to change it. The author has done a marvelous job of narrating her tragic life.
Barbara Hutton eventually moved to Beverly Wiltshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. At this stage she was like a dead matter; her lawyers, doctors and business advisors had swindled her to the last few dollars. Barbara's personal business counselor Mattison was on the top of the list in misappropriating her inheritance. She still wanted to invite friends for a meal but no one wanted to know her. Every gigolo and a fortune hunter in town learnt of her routine of going to the hotel bar until 3 AM and she was subjected all kinds of tricks from guys to lure her into bed and access to her fortune. On top of that a steady flow of 19 year old beach boys were paid $1,000 a night to keep her company in her hotel bedroom. At the time of her death at 66, she had $3,500 in her checking account.
There were many good sides to Barbara Hutton. She knitted sweaters and socks to raise money for the rehabilitation of disabled French soldiers during WWII and made donations to recruit volunteers to fly war missions for England against German war machine. She was an outspoken advocate of American intervention in the war and did active telephone campaign and took newspaper ads to raise money for contributions to British war chest. She was poetess in her own right, and her first volume, "The enchanted" was published and contained 79 poems. She found solace in the poetry of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. In spite of hundreds of men in her life, the great folly was that she could sense the future but she did nothing to change it. The author has done a marvelous job of narrating her tragic life.
August 8, 2007
"After reading this, made me feel like the rich has no appreciation of the material comfort they have when all around us we see starving children selling their own bodies just to have a bite to eat."
August 3, 2011
I have read this book over and over and over. Its quite captivating and Barbra Hutton was a very eccentric person and her life even more so. I even own the TV movie starring Farrah Fawcett.
December 21, 2014
I enjoyed this book, even though it was apparently more of a fiction than a biography http://www.newsweek.com/2014/09/05/c-...
February 7, 2016
I loved this book from beginning to end. I never knew that Barbara Hutton wrote poetry, some of it good. And she could be witty. Her end reminded me of Huguette Clark's.
February 13, 2014
The fascinating life of Barbara Hutton
David Niven, one of the men Barbara Hutton dated, described her in his memoir as a "petite snub-nosed blonde, very pretty American girl with the smallest feet I had ever seen...She was gay, a sparkling creature, full of life and laughter." Her closest friends called her a woman of charm, sensitivity, wit, dignity and taste, but her female friends thought that she lacked self-esteem and self-control. This was the image of young Barbara Hutton. As she began to marry and divorce men, life took a toll on her personality. Cary Grant, her third husband recalled that she had interest in poetry, spirituality and dance, and used as an expression that her life didn't provide. Grant cared for Barbara and also her son Lance, which none of her spouses or boyfriends provided. After she was finished with Cary, she stopped finding the right man and started to lead life as it came. She was always on the gossip columns of major newspapers by her extravaganza life styles and care free spending on men of her life. She surrounded herself with a consortium of fawning parasites; European titles, a maharaja or two, sheikhs, and swarm of gays. Cary Grant once said if one phonier Earl had entered the house he would have suffocated. Men were chief stimulus for Barbara Hutton; she bought and sold them, bartered them or replaced them in much the same way a stockbroker operates in the Exchange. She was always in love with several men but real love was her greatest rarities. She divided men into two categories; those she loved and those she took to bed. Her marriages were essentially sexless (sleeping in two separate bedrooms) and her affairs were bereft of love. Her inability to combine the two forces in one man kept her going from one husband to another. Philip Reed, one of the struggling actors she dated, claimed that Barbara Hutton was incapable of sustaining a relationship; that sooner or later she became bored and restless and wanted to leave the relationship yearning for anther man's love. In later part of her life, she became restless and an insomniac. She wrote poetry incessantly or called friends in NY, LA, London, or Tangier, whatever the local time is at these places. Her moods changed from good to bad instantly and haunted her friends. At this time she started developing severe dependency on prescription drugs and controlled substances. At one time her doctor confirmed that she was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Once on her trip from Mexico to NY, she tried to force open the emergency exit and hurl herself out of the airliner. She had difficulty remembering the names of all her husbands and once she said that she doesn't like to walk (for exercise) because she can afford to pay others to do her walking!
Barbara Hutton eventually moved to Beverly Wiltshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. At this stage she was like a dead matter; her lawyers, doctors and business advisors had swindled her to the last few dollars. Barbara's personal business counselor Mattison was on the top of the list in misappropriating her inheritance. She still wanted to invite friends for a meal but no one wanted to know her. Every gigolo and a fortune hunter in town learnt of her routine of going to the hotel bar until 3 AM and she was subjected all kinds of tricks from guys to lure her into bed and access to her fortune. On top of that a steady flow of 19 year old beach boys were paid $1,000 a night to keep her company in her hotel bedroom. At the time of her death at 66, she had $3,500 in her checking account.
There were many good sides to Barbara Hutton. She knitted sweaters and socks to raise money for the rehabilitation of disabled French soldiers during WWII and made donations to recruit volunteers to fly war missions for England against German war machine. She was an outspoken advocate of American intervention in the war and did active telephone campaign and took newspaper ads to raise money for contributions to British war chest. She was poetess in her own right, and her first volume, "The enchanted" was published and contained 79 poems. She found solace in the poetry of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. In spite of hundreds of men in her life, the great folly was that she could sense the future but she did nothing to change it. The author has done a marvelous job of narrating her tragic life.
David Niven, one of the men Barbara Hutton dated, described her in his memoir as a "petite snub-nosed blonde, very pretty American girl with the smallest feet I had ever seen...She was gay, a sparkling creature, full of life and laughter." Her closest friends called her a woman of charm, sensitivity, wit, dignity and taste, but her female friends thought that she lacked self-esteem and self-control. This was the image of young Barbara Hutton. As she began to marry and divorce men, life took a toll on her personality. Cary Grant, her third husband recalled that she had interest in poetry, spirituality and dance, and used as an expression that her life didn't provide. Grant cared for Barbara and also her son Lance, which none of her spouses or boyfriends provided. After she was finished with Cary, she stopped finding the right man and started to lead life as it came. She was always on the gossip columns of major newspapers by her extravaganza life styles and care free spending on men of her life. She surrounded herself with a consortium of fawning parasites; European titles, a maharaja or two, sheikhs, and swarm of gays. Cary Grant once said if one phonier Earl had entered the house he would have suffocated. Men were chief stimulus for Barbara Hutton; she bought and sold them, bartered them or replaced them in much the same way a stockbroker operates in the Exchange. She was always in love with several men but real love was her greatest rarities. She divided men into two categories; those she loved and those she took to bed. Her marriages were essentially sexless (sleeping in two separate bedrooms) and her affairs were bereft of love. Her inability to combine the two forces in one man kept her going from one husband to another. Philip Reed, one of the struggling actors she dated, claimed that Barbara Hutton was incapable of sustaining a relationship; that sooner or later she became bored and restless and wanted to leave the relationship yearning for anther man's love. In later part of her life, she became restless and an insomniac. She wrote poetry incessantly or called friends in NY, LA, London, or Tangier, whatever the local time is at these places. Her moods changed from good to bad instantly and haunted her friends. At this time she started developing severe dependency on prescription drugs and controlled substances. At one time her doctor confirmed that she was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Once on her trip from Mexico to NY, she tried to force open the emergency exit and hurl herself out of the airliner. She had difficulty remembering the names of all her husbands and once she said that she doesn't like to walk (for exercise) because she can afford to pay others to do her walking!
Barbara Hutton eventually moved to Beverly Wiltshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. At this stage she was like a dead matter; her lawyers, doctors and business advisors had swindled her to the last few dollars. Barbara's personal business counselor Mattison was on the top of the list in misappropriating her inheritance. She still wanted to invite friends for a meal but no one wanted to know her. Every gigolo and a fortune hunter in town learnt of her routine of going to the hotel bar until 3 AM and she was subjected all kinds of tricks from guys to lure her into bed and access to her fortune. On top of that a steady flow of 19 year old beach boys were paid $1,000 a night to keep her company in her hotel bedroom. At the time of her death at 66, she had $3,500 in her checking account.
There were many good sides to Barbara Hutton. She knitted sweaters and socks to raise money for the rehabilitation of disabled French soldiers during WWII and made donations to recruit volunteers to fly war missions for England against German war machine. She was an outspoken advocate of American intervention in the war and did active telephone campaign and took newspaper ads to raise money for contributions to British war chest. She was poetess in her own right, and her first volume, "The enchanted" was published and contained 79 poems. She found solace in the poetry of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. In spite of hundreds of men in her life, the great folly was that she could sense the future but she did nothing to change it. The author has done a marvelous job of narrating her tragic life.
February 13, 2014
The fascinating life of Barbara Hutton
David Niven, one of the men Barbara Hutton dated, described her in his memoir as a "petite snub-nosed blonde, very pretty American girl with the smallest feet I had ever seen...She was gay, a sparkling creature, full of life and laughter." Her closest friends called her a woman of charm, sensitivity, wit, dignity and taste, but her female friends thought that she lacked self-esteem and self-control. This was the image of young Barbara Hutton. As she began to marry and divorce men, life took a toll on her personality. Cary Grant, her third husband recalled that she had interest in poetry, spirituality and dance, and used as an expression that her life didn't provide. Grant cared for Barbara and also her son Lance, which none of her spouses or boyfriends provided. After she was finished with Cary, she stopped finding the right man and started to lead life as it came. She was always on the gossip columns of major newspapers by her extravaganza life styles and care free spending on men of her life. She surrounded herself with a consortium of fawning parasites; European titles, a maharaja or two, sheikhs, and swarm of gays. Cary Grant once said if one phonier Earl had entered the house he would have suffocated. Men were chief stimulus for Barbara Hutton; she bought and sold them, bartered them or replaced them in much the same way a stockbroker operates in the Exchange. She was always in love with several men but real love was her greatest rarities. She divided men into two categories; those she loved and those she took to bed. Her marriages were essentially sexless (sleeping in two separate bedrooms) and her affairs were bereft of love. Her inability to combine the two forces in one man kept her going from one husband to another. Philip Reed, one of the struggling actors she dated, claimed that Barbara Hutton was incapable of sustaining a relationship; that sooner or later she became bored and restless and wanted to leave the relationship yearning for anther man's love. In later part of her life, she became restless and an insomniac. She wrote poetry incessantly or called friends in NY, LA, London, or Tangier, whatever the local time is at these places. Her moods changed from good to bad instantly and haunted her friends. At this time she started developing severe dependency on prescription drugs and controlled substances. At one time her doctor confirmed that she was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Once on her trip from Mexico to NY, she tried to force open the emergency exit and hurl herself out of the airliner. She had difficulty remembering the names of all her husbands and once she said that she doesn't like to walk (for exercise) because she can afford to pay others to do her walking!
Barbara Hutton eventually moved to Beverly Wiltshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. At this stage she was like a dead matter; her lawyers, doctors and business advisors had swindled her to the last few dollars. Barbara's personal business counselor Mattison was on the top of the list in misappropriating her inheritance. She still wanted to invite friends for a meal but no one wanted to know her. Every gigolo and a fortune hunter in town learnt of her routine of going to the hotel bar until 3 AM and she was subjected all kinds of tricks from guys to lure her into bed and access to her fortune. On top of that a steady flow of 19 year old beach boys were paid $1,000 a night to keep her company in her hotel bedroom. At the time of her death at 66, she had $3,500 in her checking account.
There were many good sides to Barbara Hutton. She knitted sweaters and socks to raise money for the rehabilitation of disabled French soldiers during WWII and made donations to recruit volunteers to fly war missions for England against German war machine. She was an outspoken advocate of American intervention in the war and did active telephone campaign and took newspaper ads to raise money for contributions to British war chest. She was poetess in her own right, and her first volume, "The enchanted" was published and contained 79 poems. She found solace in the poetry of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. In spite of hundreds of men in her life, the great folly was that she could sense the future but she did nothing to change it. The author has done a marvelous job of narrating her tragic life.
David Niven, one of the men Barbara Hutton dated, described her in his memoir as a "petite snub-nosed blonde, very pretty American girl with the smallest feet I had ever seen...She was gay, a sparkling creature, full of life and laughter." Her closest friends called her a woman of charm, sensitivity, wit, dignity and taste, but her female friends thought that she lacked self-esteem and self-control. This was the image of young Barbara Hutton. As she began to marry and divorce men, life took a toll on her personality. Cary Grant, her third husband recalled that she had interest in poetry, spirituality and dance, and used as an expression that her life didn't provide. Grant cared for Barbara and also her son Lance, which none of her spouses or boyfriends provided. After she was finished with Cary, she stopped finding the right man and started to lead life as it came. She was always on the gossip columns of major newspapers by her extravaganza life styles and care free spending on men of her life. She surrounded herself with a consortium of fawning parasites; European titles, a maharaja or two, sheikhs, and swarm of gays. Cary Grant once said if one phonier Earl had entered the house he would have suffocated. Men were chief stimulus for Barbara Hutton; she bought and sold them, bartered them or replaced them in much the same way a stockbroker operates in the Exchange. She was always in love with several men but real love was her greatest rarities. She divided men into two categories; those she loved and those she took to bed. Her marriages were essentially sexless (sleeping in two separate bedrooms) and her affairs were bereft of love. Her inability to combine the two forces in one man kept her going from one husband to another. Philip Reed, one of the struggling actors she dated, claimed that Barbara Hutton was incapable of sustaining a relationship; that sooner or later she became bored and restless and wanted to leave the relationship yearning for anther man's love. In later part of her life, she became restless and an insomniac. She wrote poetry incessantly or called friends in NY, LA, London, or Tangier, whatever the local time is at these places. Her moods changed from good to bad instantly and haunted her friends. At this time she started developing severe dependency on prescription drugs and controlled substances. At one time her doctor confirmed that she was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Once on her trip from Mexico to NY, she tried to force open the emergency exit and hurl herself out of the airliner. She had difficulty remembering the names of all her husbands and once she said that she doesn't like to walk (for exercise) because she can afford to pay others to do her walking!
Barbara Hutton eventually moved to Beverly Wiltshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. At this stage she was like a dead matter; her lawyers, doctors and business advisors had swindled her to the last few dollars. Barbara's personal business counselor Mattison was on the top of the list in misappropriating her inheritance. She still wanted to invite friends for a meal but no one wanted to know her. Every gigolo and a fortune hunter in town learnt of her routine of going to the hotel bar until 3 AM and she was subjected all kinds of tricks from guys to lure her into bed and access to her fortune. On top of that a steady flow of 19 year old beach boys were paid $1,000 a night to keep her company in her hotel bedroom. At the time of her death at 66, she had $3,500 in her checking account.
There were many good sides to Barbara Hutton. She knitted sweaters and socks to raise money for the rehabilitation of disabled French soldiers during WWII and made donations to recruit volunteers to fly war missions for England against German war machine. She was an outspoken advocate of American intervention in the war and did active telephone campaign and took newspaper ads to raise money for contributions to British war chest. She was poetess in her own right, and her first volume, "The enchanted" was published and contained 79 poems. She found solace in the poetry of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. In spite of hundreds of men in her life, the great folly was that she could sense the future but she did nothing to change it. The author has done a marvelous job of narrating her tragic life.
February 22, 2013
I had high expectations about this book based upon reading other biographies from this author(Jackie). However, I will never recoup the time spent reading this laundry-list otherwise called a book. To say that the author included too much detail is an understatement - he wrote endlessly about every city,plane trip,husband,title,sexual incident,jewelery purchased, gift given, drug and medical condition that this woman encountered. If you insist upon reading this book - read the 1st and last chapter only. Everything in between is just a retelling of this sad woman's neverending quest to find love and happiness.
March 5, 2011
Even though it's a biography, the thing I disliked about this book was that there was too much information. There are jarring details of sexual practices & humiliations, that I absolutely did not bargain for. Also, in my edition at least, there is a stream of footnotes about where the information first appeared- not necessarily concise citations, but a little block of text telling about the previous appearance of certain things. As a compulsive footnote reader, I would have appreciated either standard citations (so I can glance down and know to skip it) or endnotes instead of footnotes.
February 7, 2009
bio of barbara hutton - the heir to the woolworth's fortune.
July 7, 2009
A really interesting book about the life of Barbara Hutton.
December 18, 2012
So sad in the end.
January 20, 2021
This long book contained lots of interesting information about high society circa 1930 and the life of Barbara Hutton. (Hence 2 vs. 1 star.) Unfortunately, sprinkled throughout the entire book were detailed excerpts on the sexual improprieties and irregularities of Hutton and her contemporaries, especially the homosexual men. By simply editing out the explicitness of the sexual paragraphs, this could have been a good book. However, as is, it is degrading to both the subject and the reader.
Her mother committed suicide when she was 4 and her father alternatively ignored and abused her. As a young child, she inherited one third of the Woolworth fortune as her mother's sole heir. She was obscenely rich, especially by depression era standards. She bounced between relatives, governesses and boarding school with no real guidance or boundaries.
She was thoroughly spoiled and lived a life of wanton excess. She bought humans (husband, friends & staff) as well as drugs and alcohol with her millions. Her immense wealth and disinterested relatives made it impossible for anyone to control her - including herself. She did have moments of generosity (from her excess). And she was always seeking love and goodness. But she was unwilling to accept any personal sacrifices or compromises - so she could not find either. Hutton was ultimately married 7 times and had numerous pre-marital and extra-marital sexual liaisons according to this book.
Her mother committed suicide when she was 4 and her father alternatively ignored and abused her. As a young child, she inherited one third of the Woolworth fortune as her mother's sole heir. She was obscenely rich, especially by depression era standards. She bounced between relatives, governesses and boarding school with no real guidance or boundaries.
She was thoroughly spoiled and lived a life of wanton excess. She bought humans (husband, friends & staff) as well as drugs and alcohol with her millions. Her immense wealth and disinterested relatives made it impossible for anyone to control her - including herself. She did have moments of generosity (from her excess). And she was always seeking love and goodness. But she was unwilling to accept any personal sacrifices or compromises - so she could not find either. Hutton was ultimately married 7 times and had numerous pre-marital and extra-marital sexual liaisons according to this book.
May 18, 2017
In general, it is a good/fun read presenting the life of super rich during the 20th century.
Nonetheless, personally, I find that the author somehow missed the point of a biography by properly saying. There are many facts, listings but it failed to capture the personality of the person.
In times, while reading this book, the reader can grasp the fact that this woman was very intelligent in her own way, interested in many things, cultivating and informing herself continuously ( but also an extremely selfish woman , in times a tyrant and disrespectful towards everybody ), and as if the author chose not to emphasize sufficiently this side of her character instead focusing on the way she spent money, gave presents, shortly bought her entourage, men, and friends.
Even though, the book is quite captivating, it would have been more interesting if there were a psychological note on top of it (by skipping the list of presents given and, instead, dwelling with what her actions were about).
Nonetheless, personally, I find that the author somehow missed the point of a biography by properly saying. There are many facts, listings but it failed to capture the personality of the person.
In times, while reading this book, the reader can grasp the fact that this woman was very intelligent in her own way, interested in many things, cultivating and informing herself continuously ( but also an extremely selfish woman , in times a tyrant and disrespectful towards everybody ), and as if the author chose not to emphasize sufficiently this side of her character instead focusing on the way she spent money, gave presents, shortly bought her entourage, men, and friends.
Even though, the book is quite captivating, it would have been more interesting if there were a psychological note on top of it (by skipping the list of presents given and, instead, dwelling with what her actions were about).
August 17, 2021
Much of what C. David Heymann wrote has to be taken with a large grain of salt. His biographies of public figures, including Barbara Hutton, have fake conversations and inaccurate details of the subjects’ lives. In terms of accuracy. Heymann was as inaccurate as the sensationalistic late Charles Higham. Both Heymann and Higham wrote titillating biographies of the famous dead, but their works mix some truth with a lot of fiction.
September 20, 2024
I couldn’t find an Ebook of this biography of Barbara Hutton so I got a copy from the library. It was quite encompassing as far as I know so it was interesting reading. If you enjoy this type of book that takes an unabridged look into a person’s life then you’ll likely enjoy this book. Barbara Hutton was one of the richest women of her time having inherited her wealth from the Woolworth Department Store dynasty.
January 30, 2020
Reading this book reminds us to be careful what we wish for we would all like to have a windfall of lottery win,but to quote with great wealth comes great responsibility.barbara could have done so much more with her life.from her husband to so called friends and helpers who fleeced her.if she had been more hands on with her businesses then they might have survived on the high street today.very reminiscent of the other great wealthy person Howard Hughes.both inherited this vast wealth without any proper guidance.allthe money in the world does not bring happiness.the author has done a credible job on his subject,but sometimes gets bogged down in name dropping and finances,but I suppose in the end we read books of this ilk to peek through the curtains of the upper echelons.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews