"Atkins Worth Weight In Gold"
 

ATKINS WORTH WEIGHT IN GOLD

By DAREH GREGORIAN
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ROBERT ATKINS - $10M for wife, mom.

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May 1, 2003 -- He was a world-famous diet guru, but Dr. Robert Atkins was a family man at heart, court filings show.
The controversial diet doctor left most of his estimated $10 million fortune to his wife of 14 years, Veronica, but also ensured that his elderly mother is provided for for the rest of her life, according to papers filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court.

Atkins, whose best-selling diet books advocated a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet, suffered a severe head injury on April 8, when he fell on an icy sidewalk while walking to work in Midtown.

He died nine days later, at the age of 72.

"I give and bequeath all tangible personal property owned by me at the time of my death . . . to my spouse, Veronica," says Atkins' will.

The will also orders a trust to be set up for his mother, Norma, so she can "maintain the standard of living which she was accustomed."

Ninety percent of his cash will be put into a trust for the widow's use.

The other 10 percent goes to the Robert C. Atkins Foundation, a charity he founded to further his theories and investigate alternative medicines.

Although his company, Atkins Nutritionals Inc., had more than $100 million in revenue in 2002, his will estimates the size of Atkins' personal fortune at $10 million.

Atkins was also apparently very fond of his in-laws - in the event of his wife's death, most of the marital trust would go to Atkins' foundation, but the rest would be divided between two sisters-in-law, a brother-in-law and his former assistant.