The children of the late Manhattan philanthropist Joan Tisch are rushing to court to protect her estimated $4 billion fortune — including a 50 percent stake in the New York Giants — from a volatile stock market.
Steven, Laurie and Jonathan Tisch are asking a Surrogate’s Court judge to give them control over their mother’s finances “to preserve her estate in the face of an unpredictable securities market.”
Tisch, who died at 90 earlier this month, inherited her vast wealth from her late husband Bob Tisch. His family owned Loews Theaters.
Papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court this week list her assets as “tangible personal property, a house located in Westchester County and investments.” The documents do not detail her securities holdings.
The longtime Museum of Modern Art supporter left three of her prized paintings to the museum including Italian artist Alberto Giacometti’s “Pomme sur le buffet.”
The rest of her fortune will go to her children and grandchildren, securing the Tisch name as one of the country’s richest families for generations to come.
She split her billions between three foundations run by her adult children, then gave trust funds to nine grandchildren.
Joan Tisch’s heirs will continue to run and own the struggling New York Giants, whose helmets now bear their late owner’s initials, JHT, as a tribute.
A lawyer for estate did not immediately return calls for comment.