Doris Duke

Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was a billionaire tobacco heiress and philanthropist. A reluctant celebrity, her bittersweet life was famously woven of luxury, disputes and interludes of deep unhappiness. Duke’s passions varied wildly. Briefly a news correspondent in the 1940s, she also played jazz piano and learned to surf competitively. At her father's estate at Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, she created one of America's largest indoor botanical displays. She was also active in preserving more than 80 historic buildings in Newport, Rhode Island. Twice divorced, Duke enjoyed a colorful private life that was seldom out of the gossip columns. Her philanthropic work in AIDS research, medicine, and child welfare continued into her old age. Her estimated $1.3 billion fortune was largely left to charity. Duke's legacy is now administered by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, dedicated to medical research, prevention of cruelty to children and animals, the performing arts, wildlife and ecology.