Hélène Pastor (31 March 1937 – 21 May 2014) was a Monegasque businesswoman and heiress. She headed what is seen as Monaco’s ‘second dynasty’, and was the richest woman in the principality. She was assassinated by a gang that included her son-in-law, who was subsequently jailed for life in 2018.

Early life

Hélène Pastor was born in 1937.Marie-Pierre Grondahl
L'héritière est décédée: Qui en veut aux Pastor?
''

Paris Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly news magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. History and profile A sports news magazine, ''Match l'intran'' (a play on '' L'Intransigeant ...

'', 21 May 2014 Her father, Gildo Pastor, was an heir and businessman.Hélène Constanty
Nice: Hélène Pastor, héritière d'un empire de béton, est morte
'' L'Express'', 5 November 2013Hélène Pastor dies from shooting
, ''The Riviera Times'', 21 May 2014 Her paternal grandfather, Jean-Baptiste Pastor, was an Italian builder who moved to Monaco in the 1880s.Kim Willsher
Monaco heiress dies from her injuries after mysterious ambush by gunmen
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 22 May 2014 She grew up in Monaco with her two brothers,

Michel Pastor Michel Pastor (1944 – 2 February 2014) was an heir, businessman and art collector from Monaco. Early life Michel Pastor was born in 1944.Claire LathburyMichel Pastor dies aged 70, ''The Monaco Times'', 3 February 2014 His father, Gildo Pasto ...

and Victor Pastor.

Business

She was the owner of Helene Pastor Pallanca SAM, a real estate company.Tom Metcalf
Monaco Murders Reveal Six Hidden Real Estate Billionaires
''Bloomberg'', 18 October 2014 She owned

Le Bahia Le Bahia is a high-rise residential building in Monaco. Location It is located at 39 Avenue Princesse Grace in the Larvotto district of Monaco.

and Émilie Palace in the

Larvotto Larvotto (french: Le Larvotto; also known as Larvotto/Bas Moulins; lij, Larvotu ) is the easternmost ward in the Principality of Monaco. It is part of the quarter of Monte Carlo. It has an estimated surface area of and access to the Mediterr ...

district, the Trocadero, Continental and

Le Schuylkill Le Schuylkill is a high-rise residential building in Monaco. Location It is located at 19, Boulevard de Suisse in Saint Michel, Monaco.

apartment buildings, and the Gildo Pastor Center in the Fontvieille district. They were worth US$3.7 billion. She was the richest woman in Monaco.Mark Seal
Murder Made in Monaco
'' Vanity Fair'', November 2014Obituaries: Hélène Pastor
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 3 June 2014 Most of her wealth came from collecting rent. In its obituary, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' called her "the senior surviving member of what is, in effect, Monaco’s second dynasty after the ruling Grimaldis". She was known in Monaco as "La Vice Princesse" (English: "The Vice Princess").

Personal life

She was married twice. With her first husband, she had a daughter,

Sylvia Pastor Sylvia may refer to: People *Sylvia (given name) *Sylvia (singer), American country music and country pop singer and songwriter *Sylvia Robinson, American singer, record producer, and record label executive *Sylvia Vrethammar, Swedish singer credi ...

, born in 1961, who lived with

Wojciech Janowski Wojciech Janowski (born 15 August 1949) is a Polish-born Monegasque former businessman, diplomat, and philanthropist. In 2018, he was sentenced to life in prison for ordering the murder of his mother-in-law, Hélène Pastor. Early life Wojciech J ...

, a Polish-born businessman, for 28 years. She then married Claude Pallanca, a dentist. They had a son, Gildo Pallanca Pastor, born in 1967.

Assassination

On 6 May 2014, Pastor was traveling by car from the L' Archet Hospital in western

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, France, where she had been visiting her son.Prominent Monaco figure shot in Nice
, ''The Riviera Times'', 7 May 2014 Minutes later, a gunman fired at her car, hitting both Pastor and her chauffeur, Mohamed Darouich. She was rushed to the Saint Roch hospital in central Nice, and fell into a coma. Darouich died from his injuries on 11 May. Pastor woke up from her coma on 16 May, but died five days later, on 21 May, at age 77. Upon her death, the

Prince's Palace of Monaco The Prince's Palace of Monaco ( French: ''Palais princier de Monaco'') is the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besi ...

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." Her funeral was attended by Albert II, Prince of Monaco.

Christian Estrosi Christian Paul Gilbert Estrosi (born 1 July 1955) is a French sportsman and politician who has served as Mayor of Nice since 2017, previously holding the office from 2008 to 2016. A former professional motorcyclist, he served as a government m ...

, 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."Décès d'Hélène Pastor: Christian Estrosi exprime "sa grande tristesse"
''

Nice-Matin ''Nice-Matin'' (French for "Nice-Morning") is a regional daily French newspaper. The paper covers Nice and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in south-eastern France. History and profile ''Nice-Matin'' was created in 1944. The paper was join ...

'', 21 May 2014 In June 2014, her son-in-law,

, admitted to being involved with her assassination. 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. On 17 October 2018, Janowski was sentenced to life in prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastor, Helene 1937 births 2014 deaths Assassinated Monegasque people Assassinated businesspeople Deaths by firearm in France Female billionaires Monegasque billionaires Monegasque businesspeople in real estate Monegasque murder victims Monegasque women in business Helene People murdered in France People of Ligurian descent People with disorders of consciousness Violence against women in France Women business executives 2014 murders in France