After over a century of philanthropic schmoozing, socialite Brooke Astor — who married John Jacob Astor's great-great-great grandson — has had her life reduced to a pathetic mess: according to court papers filed last week, the 104-year-old woman with a $45 million portfolio sleeps in torn nightgowns, eats pureed peas, sleeps in a room without heat, and sits on a urine-soaked couch. Astor is in the care of her only son, Anthony Marshall, who at 82-years-old seems to think that locking his mother's dogs in the pantry and replacing her Creme de la Mer with Vaseline qualifies as adequate care. Can you hear David Patrick Columbia weeping?

But there's hope: Astor's grandson Philip Marshal has filed papers seeking to replace Anthony Marshall as legal guardian and instead entrust the care of Astor to Annette de la Renta (wife of designer Oscar) and Chase bank. Thank God — it's a tragedy when the ultra-wealthy aren't treated as such.

104-Year-Old Philanthropist Is Being Mistreated, Her Grandson Charges [AP]

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