Hélène Pastor

Hélène Pastor
Born 1937
Monaco
Died May 21, 2014(2014-05-21) (aged 76–77)
Hospital St Roch in Nice, France
Cause of death murder
Residence Monaco
Occupation Businesswoman
Net worth $3.7 billion
Spouse(s) 2, including Claude Pallanca
Children Sylvia Pastor
Gildo Pallanca Pastor
Parent(s) Gildo Pastor
Relatives Jean-Baptiste Pastor (paternal grandfather)
Michel Pastor (brother)
Victor Pastor (brother)
Philippe Pastor (nephew)
Patrice Pastor (nephew)
Wojciech Janowski (son-in-law)

Hélène Pastor (1937 – May 21, 2014) was an heiress, businesswoman and the richest woman in Monaco, "the senior surviving member of what is, in effect, Monaco’s second dynasty after the ruling Grimaldis".[1] She was murdered in May 2014.

Early life

Hélène Pastor was born in 1937.[1][2] Her father, Gildo Pastor, was an heir and businessman.[1][2][3][4] Her paternal grandfather, Jean-Baptiste Pastor, was an Italian builder who moved to Monaco in the 1880s.[1][2][3][4][5]

She grew up in Monaco with her two brothers, Michel Pastor and Victor Pastor.[2][4][5]

Business

She was the owner of Helene Pastor Pallanca SAM, a real estate company.[6] She owned Le Bahia and Émilie Palace in the Larvotto district,[7][8] the Trocadero,[9] Continental and Le Schuylkill apartment buildings,[10][11] and the Gildo Pastor Center in the Fontvieille district.[6][12][13] They were worth US$3.7 billion.[6]

She was the richest woman in Monaco.[14][15] Most of her wealth came from collecting rents.[6] In its obituary, The Daily Telegraph called her "the senior surviving member of what is, in effect, Monaco’s second dynasty after the ruling Grimaldis".[1] She was known in Monaco as "la vice princesse" (English: "the vice Princess").[1][5]

Personal life

She was married twice.[1] With her first husband, she had a daughter, Sylvia Pastor, born in 1961,[2][6] who lived with Wojciech Janowski, a Polish-born businessman, for 28 years.[16][17]

She then married Claude Pallanca, a dentist.[1][2] They had a son, Gildo Pallanca Pastor, born in 1967.[1][2][6][4]

Assassination

On May 6, 2014, she walked out of the L'Archet Hospital in western Nice, France, where she was visiting her son, and into her chauffeured car.[1][3][18][19] Minutes later, a gunman fired at her car, hitting her chauffeur and herself.[1][3][18] She was rushed to the Saint Roch hospital in central Nice.[19] She woke up from her coma on May 16,[20] but died on May 21, 2014 at the Hospital St Roch in Nice.[2][18][5] She was seventy-seven years old.[2]

Upon her death, the Prince's Palace of Monaco released a statement saying, "HSH the Prince expresses his deep compassion to the children of Mrs Hélène Pastor-Pallanca at the announcement of her tragic passing."[4] Her funeral was attended by Albert II, Prince of Monaco.[16]

Christian Estrosi, the Mayor of Nice, released the following statement, "My thoughts go out to Gildo, Hélène Pastor’s son, as well as all of her relatives. I share their pain and grief. My thoughts also go out to all the Monegasques who were devastated by this tragedy."[4][21]

In June 2014, her son-in-law, admitted to being involved with her assassination.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Hélène Pastor- obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Marie-Pierre Grondahl, L'héritière est décédée: Qui en veut aux Pastor?, Paris Match, May 21, 2014
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hélène Constanty, Nice: Hélène Pastor, héritière d'un empire de béton, est morte, L'Express, November 05, 2013
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hélène Pastor dies from shooting, The Riviera Times, May 21, 2014
  5. 1 2 3 4 Kim Willsher, Monaco heiress dies from her injuries after mysterious ambush by gunmen, The Guardian, May 22, 2014
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tom Metcalf, Monaco Murders Reveal Six Hidden Real Estate Billionaires, Bloomberg, October 18, 2014
  7. ↑ Emporis: Le Bahia
  8. ↑ Emporis: Émilie Palace
  9. ↑ Emporis: Trocadero
  10. ↑ Emporis: Continental
  11. ↑ Emporis: Le Schuylkill
  12. ↑ Emporis: Gildo Pastor Center
  13. ↑ Olivier Toscer, Hélène Pastor : les secrets de famille de la "vice-princesse" de Monaco, Le Nouvel Observateur, May 21, 2014
  14. ↑ Mark Seal, Murder Made in Monaco, Vanity Fair, November 2014
  15. ↑ Obituaries: Hélène Pastor, The Times, June 3, 2014
  16. 1 2 3 Samuel, Henry (June 27, 2014). "Monaco heiress' son-in-law admits to 'involvement' in her murder". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  17. ↑ Willsher, Kim (June 27, 2014). "Monaco billionaire's son-in-law accused of ordering her murder". The Guardian. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 Darren Boyle, Monaco diplomat 'in heiress mother-in-law murder plot had debts of €9m including overdraft charge of €1m', The Daily Mail, July 17, 2014
  19. 1 2 Prominent Monaco figure shot in Nice, The Riviera Times, May 7, 2014
  20. ↑ Helene Pastor's health improves, The Riviera Times, May 19, 2014
  21. ↑ Décès d'Hélène Pastor: Christian Estrosi exprime "sa grande tristesse", Nice-Matin, May 21, 2014
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