Leona Helmsley, an astute businesswoman most famous for snarling, "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes," has died. Long live the Queen!

Helmsley was a former model who was married three times before bagging the aging but wealthy real-estate magnate Harry Helmsley in 1972. Together they built a real-estate empire valued in the billions. At one point their portfolio included the Empire State Building.

Helmsley may have been a savvy businesswoman, but she wasn't known for being a soft-touch. Employees at all levels reported being terrified of her. She nickel-and-dimed contractors and assistants. When her only son died of a heart attack in 1982, she sued his estate for money he had borrowed from her, and served his widow with an eviction notice.

Surprisingly enough, she and Donald Trump reportedly hated each other

She was tried in 1989 for tax-evasion and eventually served 18 months, returning to New York to oversee her real-estate empire, but keeping a much lower profile than she had in the '80s.

In her last years, she reportedly gave millions to Katrina victims, and helped rebuild Southern churches that had been burnt down.

One can only imagine what Leona would have said about the current sub-prime mortgage debacle. No doubt she'd have used her sharp business sense and supreme bitchiness to make a nice profit for herself. In any case, now that she's gone, drag queens everywhere can now sleep safely.