Fortune Hunter Stories: 7 Women Who Married (Only) For Money And Became Billionaires
There was a time when their lives changed. After years of modesty, far from luxury and money, a romance, then a marriage and sometimes a divorce, they were transported non-stop to excess, to opulence. Women married to older men, short-lived relationships, and multi-million dollar lawsuits.
Anna Nicole Smith (James Howard Marshall)
Anna Nicole Smith's life was a whirlwind. She was 24 years old, she was not yet known, while she wore her statuesque figure among the pipes and wealthy men. In one of her presentations, at a nightclub in Houston, she met James Howard Marshall, an oil industry magnate. There was a problem: Smith was married.
Actually, it was not so. She separated in 1993 and the following year she married the billionaire who was already in his 90s. In between, the blonde had already garnered fame. She had been the cover of Playboy and chosen Playmate of the year. The relationship, predictably, did not last long. On August 4, 1995, Marshall died. Behind her, she left immense wealth: $ 1.6 billion, of which Smith believed she was entitled to at least $ 800 million.
The legal battle lasted until she was 16 years old and the playmate did not get to enjoy everything she believed she deserved from the inheritance, but she kept 474 million. At 39, after an on-and-off career between acting, photo production and the face of weight loss supplements, he died of an overdose. Her daughter Dannielyn was, then, the ultimate heir, but the girl was only five months old. Therefore, Larry Birkhead, proven biological father after a DNA test, uses the money until he comes of age.
Oksana Grigorieva (Mel Gibson)
Russian singer and songwriter, though best known for her self-confessed status as a gold digger. Her first target was British actor Timothy Dalton; next, Mel Gibson. As a result of their relationship, their daughter Lucia was born. The marriage came and a short time later, in the blink of an eye, the divorce.
The profitable divorce. Although it could be more so for Oksana Grigorieva. Gibson tried to ignore the trial and offered him $ 15 million. Not satisfied with the large sum, the Russian artist decided to take him to court. When the judge reviewed the case, it ruled that the woman would receive $ 750,000 and a house to live in until the daughter turned 18. However, Oksana claims a monthly support of $ 100,000.
Rachel Hunter (Rod Stewart)
Rod Stewart was already coming off a traumatic divorce and was not willing to go through the same situation. Therefore, before marrying Rachel Hunter, a New Zealand model and actress, and 25 years his junior, he signed a prenuptial agreement. The bond, however, was extensive: 16 years in which, in between, her two children, Renee and Liam, were born.
Everything changed in 2006. The love ended. Stewart then remembered the prenuptial agreement they had signed. He thought he was safe, but he was wrong. The divorce went to trial and the trial resulted in colossal losses: 65 million dollars that, they say, would have been much more had they not contemplated the prior distribution of assets.
Crystal Harris (Hugh Hefner)
Blonde and voluptuous. Her figure responds, fits perfectly into the stereotype that Playboy knew how to create. In fact, it was the cover of the magazine in December 2009; three years before marrying, on December 31, 2012, with Hugh Hefner, the owner of the empire, 60 years her senior.
Crystal Harris and Hefner were engaged for almost half a year until she left the Playboy mansion. They had offered her half a million dollars to star in her own reality show. The decision outraged Hefner, to the point of shaking the marriage. Harris, then, revised her position: she broke the contract and returned to her "home". Despite the fact that the model enjoys a life full of luxury and frivolity, the tycoon's lawyers have already made sure that, in the face of a potential divorce, not even a part of the fortune corresponds to him.
Tracey Edmonds (Babyface, Eddie Murphy, and Deion Sanders)
Tracey Edmonds has a long history of relationships with sports and entertainment stars. First a 15-year marriage to pop singer Babyface. Later, she married actor Eddie Muyphy and the bond faded almost without beginning. At 14 days they were already separated. Finally, she had an affair with American football player Deion Sanders, her current partner.
Edmonds today is such an established media entrepreneur that few in the art world remind her of her love history. It does not respond to the label of "luck hunter". However, her career -now so successful- opened like a fan from the economic benefits she obtained from her partners and allowed her to finance her first films and television shows.
Arlene Silver (Dick Van Dyke)
As a movie makeup artist, Alrene Silver met numerous Hollywood stars. It wasn't until she ran into Dick Van Dyke (91) that her life turned. "When we were working on a movie together, doing a late night shoot, he was laughing like always, but it was the way he was so happy that, for a moment, I thought," Wait a minute! "I felt a little different. "he said about the instant he realized love.
While Van Dyke was a star in another era, when income was lower than today, she managed to amass a fortune of close to $ 30 million. Silver says she has a lot of fun with him, that he is "immature but in a good way," although the 46 years that separate one from the other led to her being nicknamed "gold digger" when they married in 2012.
Heather Mills (Paul McCartney)
Model Heather Mills and Paul McCartney met at a charity event in England in 1999. Shortly after the most tragic year of the musician's life, 1998, when his wife - a marriage of more than 30 years - died after a long battle against cancer. McCartney and Mills, 26 years younger, fell in love and married in 2002.
At the time, Mills ran a modest modeling agency. Her marriage triggered interest in her models and she also enjoyed her husband's fortune for six years, when divorce was inevitable. The scandal broke out. Mills sued him for $ 250 million for physical and emotional abuse. Her own manager treated her as an opportunist. McCartney later said: "My marriage to Mills was a mistake." In the end, the former model was left with $ 50 million.
