20. Lady Henrietta
Lady Henrietta inherited the fortune of the Guinness family. Even though you would think that having money and living a lavish lifestyle made her happy, this is not the case. “If I had been poor, I would have been happy,” said Lady Henrietta. No one wanted to be friends with her and she resorted to buying expensive gifts to her “friends”.
19. Expensive Gifts
Since no one wanted to be friends with Lady Henrietta, the heiress would often buy super-expensive gifts to people that she wanted to hang out with. She once bought a $70,000 salon for her favorite hairdresser and a $28,000 restaurant for her Italian chef fiance. Unfortunately, their marriage didn’t last.
18. Money Brings Problems
Despite having all that fortune, the Guinness heiress was so unhappy with her life that she decided to put an end to it. Lady Henrietta was found dead at the age of 35 after she jumped off the Ponte Delle Torri bridge.
17. Louise Boyd
Louise Boid inherited the fortune made by Bodie Gold Bonanza in 1877 and instead of spending the money on expensive clothes, she decided to travel the world. The heiress explored the Arctic so much that she even received a medal of honor from the King of Norway himself! Now, that is an impressive achievement.
16. Alice de Janze
Alice de Janze was one of the richest women of the 20th Century and she did whatever she pleased. This is why the heiress is accused of (allegedly) shooting two of her lovers and getting away scot-free. The first lover was Raymond Vincent de Trafford who was trying to break up with Alice de Janze and the second one is Lord Eroll who was found shot in a car. Both murders remain unsolved.
15. Brooke Shields
Many people don’t know this but famous actress Brooke Shields is actually a descended from princes of Genoa and Rome. However, her father who has royal blood didn’t know about her existence because he paid Brooke Shields’s mother to terminate the pregnancy. The mother took the money but kept the daughter.
14. Carly Simon
Most of you might know Carly Simon for making great music such as the hit “You’re So Vain” which released in he 20th century. Although, Carly Simon didn’t need the money from the music she was making she was the heiress to Richard L. Simon, the man who co-founded the Simon & Schuster publishing house.
13. Francesca Hilton
Paris Hilton is the famous heiress of the Hilton empire, but not all of her relatives were this lucky. Take France Hilton for example who only received $100,000 after her mother divorced Conrad Hilton. Her father kept the entire $200 million fortune to himself!
12. Gloria Vanderbilt
Gloria Vanderbilt is now known for her successful brand and fashion designs. However, she didn’t have to start from the bottom since she was at the center of the “trial of the century” after her father passed away and she inherited a $71 million trust when she was only 18 months old.
11. Patty Hearst
Despite inheriting millions of dollars from the William Randolph Heart publishing empire, Patty Hearst still took a wrong path in life. She suffered from mental issues and she went to join a terrorist group and ended up jailed.
10. Caterina Sforza
Caterina Sforza was the illegitimate child of the Duke of Milan but she still received high-class education. Caterina went on to become a warlord and she terrorized the lands surrounding Milan.
9. Tennesee Claflin
Tennesse Claflin is going to be remembered in history for being the first woman of Wall Street. Her family made their fortune back in 1870 by investing in the snake oil business of faith healers. Tennesse Claflin was so rich that she made her own news publication that she used to spread her views on the world.
8. Pannonica de Koenigswarter
Pannonica de Koenigswarter was born to Charles Rothschild and a Hungarian baroness. She inherited a fortune from her family and went on to marry a French Baron in 1935. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last and Pannonica decided to abandon her five children in favor of a life of partying.
7. Brooke Astor
Back in 1959, Brooke Astor inherited a whopping $60 million from her late husband Vincent Astor. Sadly, she didn’t get to enjoy the money because she was bombarded with lawsuits from all her family members, including her own father, son and even nephew.
6. Margaret Beaufort
Margaret Beaufort became the sole heir of the fortunate made by the Duke of Somerset during the War of Roses. Even though everyone was trying to take a piece out of Margaret Beaufort’s fortune, she ended up besting her enemies when her son, Henry VII, became the king of England.
5. Bobbi Kristina Brown
After her mother passed away (Whitney Huston), Bobbi Kristina Brown inherited a fortune of $20 million. Sadly, Bobbi Kristina Brown didn’t get to enjoy the money and live a lavish lifestyle because she was found dead a couple of years later.
4. Frances Bean Cobain
Frances Bean Cobain is the daughter of the late Kurt Cobain who was the lead singer of Nirvana. The daughter gained full control of her trust fund when she was 18 and she is now receiving $95,000 each month from her father’s publicity rights alone! Sadly, not all things are great in her life since she got a restraining order against her mother in 2009.
3. Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is a famous actress who was originally born as “Olivia Jane Cockburn”. Her father is the world-famous editor and journalist Andrew Cockburn. This is why when Olivia Wilde was growing up, she had famous people such as Mick Jagger as house guests!
2. Paris Hilton
You knew that Paris Hilton was going to make an appearance on our list because after all, she is the most infamous heiress in the world. Even though Paris Hilton is the heiress of hundreds of successful hotels, she is still doing anything she can to get people’s attention and this includes lots of public scandals.
1.Elizabeth Paige Laurie
Elizabeth Paige Laurie is the heriess of the Walmart fortune and she is infamous for being a cheater. The heiress cheated on her term papers and also on her marriage which ended up in a divorce.