Man's pledge to return NYC building to Lenape Indians unfulfilled, leaves $50K inheritance to cat.
Jean-Louis Goldwater Bourgeois, a millionaire who once pledged to give his historic West Village property back to the Lenape Indians, left part of his $14 million estate to his black house cat, Mali, and a close friend in Queens. Bourgeois did not leave a dime to the tribe, but had a falling out with the former chief of the Ramapough Indians, who are part of the Lenape Nation, in 2019. Bourgeois directed his executors to sell his remaining property, including the Weehawken Street home, which is worth at least $5 million. His estate benefited friends, an adopted son, and his mother’s nonprofit, the Easton Foundation.