Business

Carl Nicholas Karcher, (January 16, 1917 – January 11, 2008) was the American founder of the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain, now owned by parent company CKE Restaurants, Inc.

Carl karcher's Death:
Carl Karcher died on January 11, 2008 from complications of Parkinson's Disease.
Carl Karcher 5 day from his 91st birthday at the time of his death.

Born on a farm near Upper Sandusky, Ohio, Karcher was the son of Ohio natives Leo and Anna Maria (Kuntz) Karcher. Leo Karcher's grandparents had immigrated from Belgium; Anna Maria Kuntz was of German ancestry. Carl N. Karcher moved to Anaheim, California, where his uncle ran a small business. He was hired by his uncle and worked for him for three years, later he dropped that job to work at a bakery as a delivery boy which doubled his salary monthly. He married Margaret Magdalen Heinz Karcher in 1939.

Karcher and his wife started their first business, a hot dog stand, on July 17, 1941 in Los Angeles, California when they borrowed $311 against their Plymouth automobile and added $15 from Margaret's purse. The stand initially sold hot dogs and Mexican tamales. On January 16, 1945, they opened their first restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue in Anaheim.

Leona Helmsley (July 4, 1920 – August 20, 2007) was a billionaire New York City hotel operator and real estate investor. She was a flamboyant personality and had a reputation for tyrannical behavior that earned her the nickname "Queen of Mean." The image of Helmsley was sealed when a former housekeeper testified that she heard Helmsley say: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." She was convicted of federal income tax evasion and other crimes in 1989 and served 19 months in prison (and two more months in house arrest), after receiving an initial sentence of 16 years.

Death

Leona Helmsley died from congestive heart failure, at the age of 87, on August 20, 2007, at her summer home in Greenwich, Connecticut Cardiovascular disease ran in her family, claiming the lives of her father, son and a sister. After a week at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel, she was entombed next to Harry Helmsley in a mausoleum constructed for $1.4 million and set on 3/4 acre in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Westchester County, New York.

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I grew up in the 80's. I probably heard Johnny Carson cracking jokes about Leona Helmsley about thousand times.

She was a great person in a way.  She started out as a secretary, then took over the industry.  I wish I was like that.

Then she made some bad decisions later in her life.

She must have been lonely, because she left 12 million dollars to her dog.

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Ernest Gallo (March 18, 1909 – March 6, 2007) was the American co-founder of the E & J Gallo Winery, which recently changed its name to Gallo Family Vineyards. He was ranked 297th on the 2006 Forbes 400 list of billionaires.

After the death of his parents, Ernest and brother Julio (1910–1993), along with their wives Amelia (1910–1993) and Aileen (1913–1999), raised their thirteen-year-old little brother Joseph (1919–2007). In 1986, the brothers sued Joseph for using the Gallo name on his cheese labels. The brothers won and their relationship with Joseph was forever strained.

Ernest Gallo was married for sixty-two years to Amelia Franzia Gallo. When she died on December 22, 1993, Ernest released the following statement: "Amelia was a great wife, mother and grandmother, and a truly great lady. While her loss is very, very difficult for me, I feel fortunate and thankful I have had her for sixty-two memorable years." The couple had two sons: David, who died in 1997, and Joseph.

His younger brother, Joseph Gallo, died on February 17, 2007 at age eighty-seven. Weeks later, on March 6, 2007, Ernest Gallo died at his home in Modesto, California.

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