Duke Estate Offers $18.6 Million In Grants To Her Favorite Causes

Four years after Doris Duke’s death and a subsequent monumental fight over her estate, the foundation bearing her name Tuesday announced its first grants, totaling $18.6 million, to causes close to the tobacco heiress’s heart.

The foundation, one of the United States’ largest with an endowment of $1.25 billion, supported projects in conservation, medical research and the arts, reflecting Duke’s passion for jazz and dance.

The largest grant, $5 million, went to the Open Space Institute and the Trust for Public Land to complete its purchase of Sterling Forest, on the border of New York and New Jersey.

Duke died on Oct. 23, 1993. Her last controversial act was making Bernard Lafferty, her former butler, the executor of her will. After a long court fight, Lafferty was forced to step aside amid allegations of drinking and lavish spending. He died last year.