Billionaire Divorces Of The Century.
NEW YORK - Corporate raider Ronald Perelman became
rich (estimated net
worth: $6 billion) and famous for his
corporate deal making, starting
with his takeover of Revlon and, more recently,
for winning a
high-profile suit last year against Morgan Stanley,
in which a Florida
jury ordered the investment bank to pay Perelman's
firm $1.6 billion
(see "Don't Mess With Me").
But during the millenium, his boardroom deals
took a backseat to his turbulent
private life, as Perelman's marriage to glamorous
actress Ellen Barkin
(his fourth, star of "SEA OF LOVE") headed toward
divorce.
Perelman is no stranger to ugly marital endings.
His first marriage to
heiress Faith Golding lasted 19 years.
His second to former
gossip-columnist Claudia Cohen lasted nine
years.
But it was his three-year union to socialite
and big-time democratic
supporter Patricia Duff--and the long
custody battle that followed--that
captured much of America's imagination. Perelman
told Forbes last year
that he still winces from the fallout over the
divorce. He was pilloried
for testifying that a child could be fed on $3
per day, and he was
accused of abuse. But it was Duff, who sought
millions of dollars in
annual child support for their then three-year-old
daughter and ended up
getting much less --- who lost the custody battle.
Undoubtedly influenced
by her experience, Duff has now taken on judicial
reform, co-founding
the Coalition for Judicial Justice and founding
Families for Justice.
Meanwhile, Perelman quickly remarried in 2000--this
time to Barkin--with great
expectations that the fourth time would be the
charm. But now his latest
marriage has hit the rocks, and a divorce is
in the works. While details
of the couple's prenuptial agreement are confidential,
it appears that
Barkin was due to get more money the longer she
stayed married.
Speculation is that Perelman will try to cap
her payment at $20 million.
There's no doubt Perelman is a man who takes
his prenuptials very
seriously: He refused to attend the wedding of
his eldest son, Josh,
because the bride didn't sign a prenup --with
the kid.
If he ends up paying Barkin just $20 million,
the 34th-richest American
would have spent less than $200 million--not
even 4% of his net
worth--in divorce settlements with his four wives.
That really would
cement his reputation as one of America's best
dealmakers.
Perelman is by no means the only billionaire to
make headlines for his
divorcing ways. Billionaire investor Ronald
Burkle (estimated net worth:
$2.3 billion) has also been in the news. His
ex-wife Janet accused her
husband, who controls Pathmark Stores (nasdaq:
PTMK - news - people )
and Wild Oats Markets (nasdaq: OATS - news -
people ), of hiding assets,
when she agreed to a reported
$30 million settlement in 1997. According
to Ron's spokesperson, she's been appealing the
settlement
unsuccessfully for years. What's really garnered
attention, though, has
been a related privacy issue. After his social
security number was made
public, Burkle successfully sought to seal or
redact certain
information, citing the threat of identity theft,
stalking and
kidnapping. Legislation was then passed allowing
such information to
remain private. Janet Burkle, with support of
major media outlets,
fought for certain financial information to be
made public. Just last
week, a state appeals court ruled that the First
Amendment provides a
right of access to court records in divorce proceedings,
and that the
recently enacted state law is unconstitutional.
Ronald & Lisa Burkle
Ronald's Net Worth: $2.3 billion
The former couple has been fighting over a reported
$30 million
post-marital settlement for years. So far she
has been unsuccessful in
her appeals. But she did have one recent victory:
Last week, an appeals
court ruled in essence that Burkle's divorce
records, including his
financial information, must be opened to the
public, citing the First
Amendment and labeling as unconstitutional a
recently enacted state law
that allowed certain information to be kept private.
Kirk Kerkorian & Lisa Bonder Kirk's Net Worth: $10 billion
Once ranked seventh on the women's professional
tennis circuit, Bonder
is now probably best known as Kerkorian's ex-wife.
She fought with him
for several years in court over child-support
payments for her daughter
Kira, even though he turned out not to be the
biological father. Bonder
reportedly asked Kerkorian for almost $4 million
per year to cover
everything from lavish play dates and parties
to pet care. He eventually
agreed to pay a more modest monthly settlement
of a reported $50,000.
Alexander & Carrie Otto Otto Family's Net Worth: $8.3 billion
The couple met in Boston and were married for
nine years, before she
filed for divorce in Miami in January 2004. Carrie
reportedly claimed
she’d been fraudulently induced to sign a prenup
that gave her $14
million, which was based on a low estimate of
Alexander’s net worth. A
motion was filed to engage an appraiser to value
assets. Forbes pegs the
German family's fortune--shared by Alexander,
his dad and five
siblings--at $8.3 billion. She reportedly got
$50 million, though no one
will confirm this due to confidentiality agreements.
Sumner & Phyllis Redstone Sumner's Net Worth: $8.4 billion
Phyllis filed for divorce from Viacom Chairman
Sumner Redstone in 1999.
The case received lots of press, largely because
she reportedly sought
half of her husband's wealth--then pegged at
$6 billion--which would
have been the largest divorce settlement in history.
The 55-year
marriage officially ended in July 2002, with
the court declaring the
settlement an "equitable" division. Details weren't
disclosed, but
Phyllis apparently got half
of his stakes in WMS Industries and Midway
Gaming, while Sumner kept control of crown-jewel
Viacom.
Ted Turner & Jane Fonda -- Ted's Net Worth: $2 billion
One of America's most famous unions came unraveled
in early 2000.
Reports cited Fonda's new-found devotion to religion
as a possible
cause. The movie star filed for divorce on April
16, 2001, and the
proceedings was finalized five weeks later on
May 22--the matter being
handled expeditiously and very privately. What's
most notable about this
split is how civilized it appears to have been,
particularly for
eccentric billionaire Turner and outspoken movie
star Fonda.
HELPING EASE MARITAL SPLIT
BY LINDA A. FOX
All good things must come to an end, even that marriage supposedly made in heaven.
Divorce is a fact of life in modern society and knowing how to protect
yourself
financially, as well as emotionally, when the time comes, is crucial.
The best advice is to start building your new life immediately, according
to the Equality
in Marriage Institute (IEM). Approach divorce as you would a new job. First,
get your
papers in order. Here are a few tips from the IEM:
- Copy important papers such as tax returns, shared business interests,
insurance
policies and bank statements and keep them in a safe place.
- Keep a record of personal property records such as mortages, deeds, titles
and
records of debt.
- File personal papers, such as the original marriage certificate, divorce
papers and all
legal actions ensuing.
- Make sure you know what you have. Take an inventory of your valuable
possessions,
such as jewelry or art or collections of stamps and coins.
The IEM suggests you start keeping track of expenses. Record in detail
what goes out
and what is coming in. Even the tiniest thing, such as lunches at work.
Take a look at the IEM's new Web site at www.equalityinmarriage.org for
more ideas on
how to cope with your new status. Although U.S.-based, it also has helpful
hints for
Canadians.
The site will lead you to sections headed Taking Care of Business, Taking
Care of Self,
How Friends and Family Can Help, What About Your Children and Alimony.
Organization founder Lorna Wendt says through her own divorce she learned
firsthand
that "marriage is not always an equal partnership -- and that is something
most people
don't realize when they are making a commitment."
No matter how little or how much you have accumulated as a couple, says
Wendt, there
will be assets to split.
Wendt cites her own case. After 32 years of marriage, her wealthy husband
demanded a
divorce and offered only 10% of the marital assets.
That sent her on a quest to seek equality with a 50/50 split and then moved
her to
organize the institute and now the Web site to help others.
But here's one statistic to keep in mind, no matter how bad you think married
life is: A
study published by the American Journal Of Public Health reported that
divorced people
are three times as likely to commit suicide than married individuals.
Sometimes, you just can't win!
BUT MOSTLY YOU CAN WIN! You are young and beautiful. If you hang with the right 'set', you will marry a billionaire. If he turns out to be unloveable, then the concept is, you take a thousand or two out of your million dollar divorce settlement, rent an office, fill it with photos like one below. Then take 24 thousand a year out, hire a secretary. Then, do a thousand bucks worth of promotional literature, "SAVE A STARVING BABY" And lots of good graphics on your PROMO or PAMPHLET like the one below. It should read: Send a check to HUNGRYAFRICA.ORG that's your new name --- perhaps. SEE "HOW TO DO A CHARITY." A caveat here! To raise cash donations legally and offer a tax deduction to donors, you must incorporate as a charity. (Oh, you spend 80$ to open a charity with your Secretary Of State in state capital. No biggie. Then, you funnel cash to Big charities like George Clooney's DARFUR. SOMALIA is having bigtime drought, famine now, so churches over there...for that you'd have to visit the area, find some reliable preachers. While there, get tons of the textiles of Africa, bring them back and wholesale the artisanry to chic boutiques. What costs a dollar over there is 50$ here. HOW TO DO IMPORT EXPORT AND WHOLESALE TO BOUTIQUES.
Please marry the guy who's
rich and do it fast. I can't hold out long without food.
Our
POSTER is ANITA SANDS HERNANDEZ, Los Angeles Writer, Futurist
and Astrologer. Catch up with her websites 