3. Alec Wildenstein and Jocelyn Wildenstein – Estimated at $2.5 billion
When New York socialite, Jocelyn Wildenstein (famous for her plastic surgeries) separated from art dealer Alec Wildenstein in 1999 she received a reimbursement worth $2.5 billion.
Along with that, she got $100 million each year for the coming 13 years, if the British and American tabloids are to be believed, making it the third most expensive divorce in the world.
This was also the day when the wealthiest and most secretive family of the art world became fodder for the tabloid. Alec and Jocelyne’s messy and very public divorce is sordid enough with allegations of infidelity, greed and gunplay.
Pictures of Jocelyne’s once delicate face stretched taut by nightmarish plastic surgery only went on to heighten ridicule and scrutiny. As for Alec, he was one of the two heirs of the richest art family in the world. Until 1997, he was known only within the circle of the racing and art, with the Wildensteins being major breeders and owners.
Then came the divorce that was accompanied by worldwide fascination primarily due to the multiple facelifts undergone by Jocelyne, who came to be known as The Bride of Wildenstein.
The elaborate divorce proceedings also revealed, for the first time, the vastness of the family’s riches and the absolute control exercised by Alec’s father, Daniel, over Wildenstein & Co. even with both his sons being in their 50s.
In his memoirs, Daniel makes no mention of his sons. His fortune was left, not to Alec or his brother Guy, but to their kids.
