Deceased US millionaire Gary Winnick left his family $155 million in debt

American millionaire Gary Winnick, considered the richest resident of Los Angeles in the 1990s, died leaving his heirs with enormous debts, Mir24 reports.

Winnick founded the telecommunications company Global Crossing, which, riding the wave of the internet boom, became one of the fastest-growing in the world. The business was built on a global network of undersea cables. At the time, the entrepreneur owned one of the most expensive homes in the US, and his housekeeper became a millionaire after receiving company shares as a gift.

However, in the early 2000s, forecasts for demand for telecom capacity failed to materialize, the dot-com crash deprived Global Crossing of key clients, and the company went bankrupt in 2002. Despite this, the family's lifestyle remained largely unchanged. The Winnicks continued to live in the Casa Encantada estate, owned a house in Malibu, an apartment in New York's Sherry-Netherland Hotel, and an art collection (including works by Edward Hopper and Cy Twombly). He also donated tens of millions to charity.

After his death, it was discovered that much of his property had been used as collateral for large loans. In 2020, the estate, the Malibu house, artwork, and jewelry were used as collateral for the loans. The debt reached $155 million.

As the businessman's widow, Karen Winnick, testified in court, she was unaware of the real state of affairs: her husband concealed the extent of his debts and the need to take out loans to maintain his usual standard of living, The Wall Street Journal reports.