Henry Kissinger Describes Brooke Astor's Decline

NEW YORK — Socialite Brooke Astor didn't recognize Kofi Annan at a dinner party she was throwing for him, wondering who "that black fellow" was, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger testified Thursday.

Astor's mental condition is a central issue at the trial of her son, Anthony Marshall, who's accused of plundering her $198 million estate.

In his testimony Thursday, Kissinger said he noticed Astor's mental decline around 2001. Astor died in 2007 at age 105.

Kissinger said Astor gave a dinner party in 2002 for Annan but didn't recognize the guest of honor, at the time secretary-general of the United Nations. He said Astor turned to him and asked, "Who is the black fellow sitting on the other side of me?"

Kissinger said Astor asked him to do the toast to honor Annan because she didn't know what to say.

Kissinger also said that when he greeted Astor at her 100th birthday she did not recognize him, though they had been close friends for more than 25 years.

Marshall and lawyer Francis Morrissey are accused of exploiting Astor's mental decline from Alzheimer's disease to steal from her estate. They have denied the charges.

Astor's last will, created Jan. 30, 2002, left millions of dollars to her favorite charities. But later changes in the will, which prosecutors call frauds by the defendants, gave Marshall most of her estate.

Kissinger, secretary of state to Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, testified that before her decline Astor told him that "wealth should be devoted to philanthropic activity."

Comments

[uneeda]

on her 100th birthday,perhaps brooke had no further use for henry