Phoebe Speaks

Phoebe’s side is being told in an article by a San Luis Obispo magazine called New Times. It's a fascinating look at the woman, and anyone who is following her story should read the article.

Phoebe cook is one of the wealthiest women in the world, but has no access to her estate, which is under the control of a county-appointed conservator. The conservator arranged a monthly stipend, which Cook rejected. She doesn’t trust the bank where the account was opened, and there are a lot of co-signatories. She doesn’t like the thought of all those people watching every dollar she spends.

She worries about her mail being open, phones being tapped, her apartment being bugged. These worries have led her family to be convinced that she is delusional. Doctors, according to court documents, have concluded the same.

She is speaking to the press, even calling the New York Times, to get her side of the story out.

She wants out of San Luis Obispo County and wants to go to San Mateo County where hse considers a residence in Woodside, to be her official address.

She wants court hearings open to public view.

She wants an accounting of her estate since conservatorship began.

She complains that attorneys are acting in her interest and she has no control over their actions.

She was outraged that her prized quarter horses are being sold.

In court documents, county attorneys said the roughly 100 horses needed to be sold because they were costing the estate $100,000 a month (Ms. Cook is worth a couple of billion dollars).

She acknowledges that she needs some help, but admantly does not want her twin brother to control her estate.

She says allegation that people have taken advantage of her to the tune of $20 million dollars are false. She says many of the people she relied on for services, including to care for her horses, subsequently found themselves under suspicion of bilking her.

The interviewer found Cook to be articulate, responsive, and sharp-minded, and engaged in her current fight.