Indy real
estate tycoon dies, leaving fortune for Icelandic amusement park
By Willis
Floyd, THG News
August 29, 2004
Indianapolis real estate
mogul Clarence P. Hildenbrand succumbed to a long battle with heart failure in a
hospital bed at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
When it came to buying,
selling, and developing real estate, Hildenbrand was all business. Even after
the age of 80, he would still work 12-hour days at the office, scrutinizing
every detail of his company’s ventures. He often bragged that he could “work
circles around” men half his age.
This work ethic had made
Hildenbrand a millionaire many times over before his death Tuesday at the age of
89. Maybe this is why it is so surprising that he left the bulk of his $30
million fortune behind for a more pleasurable pursuit.
In his last will and
testament, Clarence Hildenbrand declared that “upon my demise, $26.7 million of
my fortune will be given to the government of the Republic of Iceland, to be used for the building of an amusement park.”
While this bequest seems
strange to most people, Hildenbrand’s friends were not surprised upon hearing
the news.
“On those rare occasions
that Hildenbrand did take a week or two off from work to vacation with his wife
(Mary, who passed away in 2002), his favorite activity was to travel the U.S.
and Europe, visiting amusement parks. His favorites were Cedar Point (Ohio) and
Tivoli Gardens (Denmark),” said lawyer and
estate administrator Ted Ridgewood, a friend of Hildenbrand’s for over thirty
years.
“I remember Clarence was
planning a trip to tour amusement parks in Western Europe a few years ago and
found out that the only country that did not have one is Iceland. He said it
made him sad that children there could not ride roller coasters unless they
could afford to go to mainland Europe. I guess he wanted to do something about
it,” said longtime business partner Gene Peterson.
The rest of Hildenbrand’s
fortune will be donated to a variety of his favorite charities, including the
American Heart Association and the American Humane Society.
