The Billionaire v. the Socialite

Ronald Perelman is not a nice man. But over the past three years, his ex-wife Patricia Duff has achieved the remarkable: she has transformed Perelman into the guy you root for. Duff, a prominent Democratic fund-raiser, went through 20 lawyers in the couple's protracted custody fight, which was finally resolved on December 7. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Franklin Weissberg ordered Perelman, the chairman of Revlon and the richest man in New York, to pay $153,900 a year in child support--not the $1.3 million that Duff had asked for. Judge Weissberg's 22-page decision lacerated Duff's contentions with words like "absurd," "rubbish," and "not a shred of evidence in the record to support these conclusions."

Plaintiff husband ("father") and defendant wife ("mother") were married January 20, 1995 and separated approximately eighteen months later. They were divorced on September 10, 1998. They have one child of the marriage, a daughter Caleigh born on December 13, 1994. The father has five other children from two previous marriages, four adults and a daughter named Samantha who is now eight years old. The wife has no other children from her three prior marriages. At the present time, Caleigh [spends]...[a]pproximately 60% of her time...with her mother and 40% with her father....

The issue to be decided herein is the appropriate amount of child support to be paid to the mother by the father Caleigh and the amount properly allocable to the mother.

The Pre-Nuptial Agreement

On December 22, 1994, nine days after the birth of their daughter, the father and mother entered into a pre-nuptial agreement.... Pursuant to that agreement, the father pays the mother $94,312 a month for maintenance, or $1,131,744 a year.... [T]he father also purchased for the mother two adjoining properties in Southport, Connecticut at a total cost, including renovations, furnishings and decorations, of $7.88 million. One property, called "Rock Meadow," consists of 20 acres, a 10,000 square foot main house, a separate guest house, a swimming pool, pond, tennis court and two greenhouses. The other property, called "Deer Meadow," consists of 23 acres, a 5,000 square foot house and a barn....

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