Hélène Pastor

Hélène Pastor (1937 – 21 May 2014) was an heiress, businesswoman and the richest woman in Monaco, "the senior surviving member of what is, in effect, Monaco’s second dynasty after the ruling Grimaldis".[1] She was murdered in May 2014.

Hélène Pastor
Born1937
Monaco
Died (aged 77)
Nice, France
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
OccupationBusinesswoman
Net worth$3.7 billion
Spouse(s)2, including Claude Pallanca
Children2, including Gildo Pallanca Pastor
Parent(s)Gildo Pastor
RelativesJean-Baptiste Pastor (paternal grandfather)
Michel Pastor (brother)
Victor Pastor (brother)
Philippe Pastor (nephew)
Patrice Pastor (nephew)
Wojciech Janowski (son-in-law)

Early life

Hélène Pastor was born in 1937.[1][2] Her father, Gildo Pastor, was an heir and businessman.[1][2][3][4] Her paternal grandfather, Jean-Baptiste Pastor, was an Italian builder who moved to Monaco in the 1880s.[1][2][3][4][5]

She grew up in Monaco with her two brothers, Michel Pastor and Victor Pastor.[2][4][5]

Business

She was the owner of Helene Pastor Pallanca SAM, a real estate company.[6] She owned Le Bahia and Émilie Palace in the Larvotto district,[7][8] the Trocadero,[9] Continental and Le Schuylkill apartment buildings,[10][11] and the Gildo Pastor Center in the Fontvieille district.[6][12][13] They were worth US$3.7 billion.[6]

She was the richest woman in Monaco.[14][15] Most of her wealth came from collecting rent.[6] In its obituary, The Daily Telegraph called her "the senior surviving member of what is, in effect, Monaco’s second dynasty after the ruling Grimaldis".[1] She was known in Monaco as "La Vice Princesse" (English: "The Vice Princess").[1][5]

Personal life

She was married twice.[1] With her first husband, she had a daughter, Sylvia Pastor, born in 1961,[2][6] who lived with Wojciech Janowski, a Polish-born businessman, for 28 years.[16][17]

She then married Claude Pallanca, a dentist.[1][2] They had a son, Gildo Pallanca Pastor, born in 1967.[1][2][4][6]

Assassination

On 6 May 2014, Pastor was traveling by car from the L'Archet Hospital in western Nice, France, where she had been visiting her son.[1][3][18] Minutes later, a gunman fired at her car, hitting both Pastor and her chauffeur, Mohamed Darouich.[1][3] She was rushed to the Saint Roch hospital in central Nice, and fell into a coma.[18] Darouich died from his injuries on 11 May.[19] Pastor woke up from her coma on 16 May,[20] but died five days later, on 21 May, at age 77.[2][5]

Upon her death, the Prince's Palace of Monaco released a statement saying, "HSH the Prince expresses his deep compassion to the children of Mrs Hélène Pastor-Pallanca at the announcement of her tragic passing."[4] Her funeral was attended by Albert II, Prince of Monaco.[16]

Christian Estrosi, the Mayor of Nice, released the following statement, "My thoughts go out to Gildo, Hélène Pastor’s son, as well as all of her relatives. I share their pain and grief. My thoughts also go out to all the Monégasques who were devastated by this tragedy."[4][21]

In June 2014, her son-in-law, Wojciech Janowski, admitted to being involved with her assassination.[16] In 2017, Janowski and nine more individuals, including fitness trainer Pascal Dauriac and his brother-in-law Abdelkader Belkhatir, were summoned to court over for a trial.[22][23] On 17 October 2018, Janowski was sentenced to life in prison.[19]

References
  1. "Hélène Pastor- obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  2. Marie-Pierre Grondahl, L'héritière est décédée: Qui en veut aux Pastor?, Paris Match, 21 May 2014
  3. Hélène Constanty, Nice: Hélène Pastor, héritière d'un empire de béton, est morte, L'Express, 5 November 2013
  4. Hélène Pastor dies from shooting Archived 13 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Riviera Times, 21 May 2014
  5. Kim Willsher, Monaco heiress dies from her injuries after mysterious ambush by gunmen, The Guardian, 22 May 2014
  6. Tom Metcalf, Monaco Murders Reveal Six Hidden Real Estate Billionaires, Bloomberg, 18 October 2014
  7. Emporis: Le Bahia
  8. Emporis: Émilie Palace
  9. Emporis: Trocadero
  10. Emporis: Continental
  11. Emporis: Le Schuylkill
  12. Emporis: Gildo Pastor Center
  13. Olivier Toscer, Hélène Pastor : les secrets de famille de la "vice-princesse" de Monaco, Le Nouvel Observateur, 21 May 2014
  14. Mark Seal, Murder Made in Monaco, Vanity Fair, November 2014
  15. Obituaries: Hélène Pastor, The Times, 3 June 2014
  16. Samuel, Henry (27 June 2014). "Monaco heiress' son-in-law admits to 'involvement' in her murder". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  17. Willsher, Kim (27 June 2014). "Monaco billionaire's son-in-law accused of ordering her murder". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  18. Prominent Monaco figure shot in Nice Archived 13 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Riviera Times, 7 May 2014
  19. "Hélène Pastor murder: Polish son-in-law sentenced to life". BBC News. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  20. Helene Pastor's health improves Archived 13 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Riviera Times, 19 May 2014
  21. Décès d'Hélène Pastor: Christian Estrosi exprime "sa grande tristesse", Nice-Matin, 21 May 2014
  22. Mickiewicz, Juliette (22 February 2017). "Assassinat d'Hélène Pastor: dix accusés dont le gendre renvoyés devant les assises". Le Figaro. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  23. "Affaire Pastor: dix accusés renvoyés devant la cour d'assises". Nice Matin. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
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