SAN DIEGO – October 6, 2011 – It might be hard to work up sympathy for the wealthy and famous supermodel Linda Evangelista. But she’s got mine.
News has recently hit all your favorite gossip rags about Evangelista’s request for $46,000 per month in child support in Manhattan (New York) family court for her four-year-old son Augustin James, whose father turns out to be a high-rolling fashion business CEO billionaire.
Evangelista’s request for support from Francois-Henri Pinault, 49, who runs the conglomerate that owns Gucci, Yves St. Laurant and Bottega Veneta, includes $175,000 annually for round-the-clock armed security, and $80,000 annually for a full-time nanny.
Pinault is married to actress Salma Hayek. They have a three-year-old daughter, Valentina. He is currently paying $50,000 a month for a $12 million Los Angeles estate held in trust in the girl's name.
Meanwhile, Evangelista, 46, claims he hasn’t given her a penny of support for his son since his birth in 2007.
Evangelista doesn’t earn the kind of money Pinault pulls in, but she isn’t a pauper. It is reported that Evangelista, one of the world’s first true supermodels, earned $1.8 million herself in 2010 and is worth $8 million.
Family Court Support Magistrate Matthew Troy was quoted as saying if the $46,000-a-month support request is granted, it would likely be the largest support order in the court’s history. Magistrate Troy is expected to decide on an amount when the parties return to Family Court next month.
When you’re a single mother who’s grateful for even the smallest amount of child support being paid on time or you’re struggling just to pay a modest mortgage, it’s got to be mind-blowing to read these kind of numbers. We all have a hard time grasping the extravagant lifestyle and expenses of the lives people like Pinault and Evangelista and their children lead.
It is why we are so fascinated by them.
The truth is that celebrities are really no different than average middle-class folks when they get a divorce. The numbers are just bigger. In this case, it’s not a fight over a few hundred dollars in daycare expenses. It’s a fight over security which may bea real and necessary expense if you and your child are likely to be followed by aggressive paparazzi all of the time. Why wouldn’t a responsible mother want to protect her four-year-old from this? Princess Diana, anyone?
Meanwhile, we have Le Deadbeat Daddy lavishing his daughter with the greatest luxury of all, the time and attention of a father.
Pinault is fighting the support request with the best attorneys money can buy. He can buy a lot. His family’s net worth is estimated at $11.5 billion. Meanwhile, his ownership shares in his luxury goods conglomerate have increased nearly $200 million in the last few months because of a jump in the stock price.
Shame on him for spending money on attorneys that should be going to his child.
Reportedly the judge has expressed sympathy for the high costs of security and the need for a nanny due to Evangelista’s hectic travel and work schedule. These may seem like normal and expected expenses when you’re talking about well-to-do, high-profile people in Manhattan. The judge called them "the extraordinary expenses that may be part of the child’s life." He added if the support case goes to trial instead of reaching an agreement, the amount of publicity and media coverage will probably mean Evangelista’s son will need even more security.
Evangelista only recently filed the court action seeking money because Pinault reportedly asked her not to make the child’s existence public. One has to wonder whether he promised support in return, and never came though. Whatever nasty things you can say about Arnold Schwarzenegger, at least he provided financially for HIS love child.
Myra Chack Fleischer founded Fleischer & Associates in 2001 and serves as Lead Counsel with a focus on divorce, property, custody and support, settlement agreements, mediation, asset division and family law appeals. Read more Legally Speaking in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Fleischer & Associates on Facebook and on Twitter @LawyerMyra
Copyright © 2011 by Fleischer & Associates, Attorneys at Law
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