'Catwoman' Who Got $2.5 Billion in Alimony Says She's Broke
Source – Jocelyn Wildenstein received a reported $2.5 billion in her divorce from her art dealer husband Alec back in 1999, and 19 years later it appears that it is all gone.
The Swiss-born socialite, who earned the nickname Catwoman in a nod to her cosmetically-altered feline features, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection according to federal court papers which were obtained by DailyMail.com.
It is a shocking turn of events for Wildenstein, who first became a fixture in the New York press around the time of her split as she bragged about the high costs of her lavish lifestyle and penchant for plastic surgery [who] finds herself with no checking or savings accounts, no retirement fund or pension plans and no investments according to her filing.
The filing also lists the $900 check Wildestein gets from Social Security each month as her only source of income. …
The most glaring seems to be Wildenstein’s estimates for the value of her wardrobe ($1,000) and jewelry ($0) … despite the fact that she is seldom seen without a large fur, luxury handbag or her 32-carat diamond engagement ring while strolling the streets of Manhattan.
As I was reading this, I couldn’t help think of my mom and how sad she used to get because she was widowed with five children. And it was in one of those moods when she confided in me that even though my father was a good and devoted husband, he didn’t have enough life insurance. Which made life really hard for her. Now I read about Jocelyn Wildenstein and all she’s been through and I can’t help but think: Wow, what a crybaby my mother was.
I mean, imagine pissing through a $2.5 billion dollar settlement and being left with nothing? At least Irene Thornton was able to go back to her old job as a 411 operator. Sure, anyone who’s done it will tell you it’s the worst job in the world, but at least she had income. Poor Catwoman only has her Social Security check, a thousand bucks worth of clothes, furs and designer handbags. Plus a diamond that is probably 64 times bigger than the one Bud Thornton gave his Mrs. but is still valued at the low, low price zero dollars.
So cry me a river, losers. I don’t want to hear and complaining from every Sally Sobstory or Hardluck Harry about how bad you have it until you’ve walked a mile in Jocelyn’s Italian leather Manolo Blahniks. But I do have faith in my girl that this is just temporary. A minor bump in the road on her way back to the top of the Manhattan socialite mountain. Anyone with her good taste and sound judgment can’t be kept down for very long. And even though she’s too good a decision maker to need a man, I’m sure she’ll find one in no time. Because she might be broke. She might have nothing but the endangered animal fur on her back. But beauty like hers – inside and out – lasts forever.