A couple of weeks ago we posted an article about the bitter divorce battle that is currently raging on between Chicago hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin and his soon-to-be ex-wife Anne Dias Griffin. Billionaire divorces are pretty much always eyebrow-raising, but Anne's demands were particularly noteworthy. How so? Well, on February 7th, Anne's attorneys submitted paperwork requesting $1 million per month in alimony to go towards her living expenses and child support. And now we're learning exactly what she plans on doing with that money and how she came to justify that amount.
First off, we should mention that Ken Griffin is worth $6.5 billion, so even if he does have to end up being forced to shell out $1 million per month… boo freaking hoo. I'm playing the world's tiniest violin in your honor.
Griffin earned his billions as the founder and CEO of Citadel LLC. His fund experienced enormous success throughout the 90s and early 2000s, but then famously lost over a billion dollars in just a few months as the world economy collapsed in 2008. In the years since 2008, both Citadel's and Mr. Griffin's personal fortunes have recovered beyond their pre-recession levels. When he first launched Citadel in 1990, he had $4.6 million under management. By 1998, the firm was managing $1 billion. Today the fund has more than $25 billion under management.
He married Anne Dias in July, 2003. Their wedding was held at the Palace of Versailles in France. They would eventually go on to have three children, all curently under the age of 10.
Larry Busacca/Getty Images
When Ken filed for divorce after 11 years, he did so while Anne was on vacation with their three children. She reportedly had no idea a separation was imminent. Under the terms of their pre-nup, Anne would receive 1% of Ken's then $6.5 billion net worth. That would have worked out to $65 million. But apparently, that was not enough! Here are a few highlights that detail why Anne Dias-Griffin apparently needs an additional $1 million a month in support:
– $2,000 per month for stationery
– $6,800 for groceries
– $7,200 for restaurant meals
– $8,000 for gifts
– $60,000 for office space and private staff
– $160,000 for vacation rentals
– $300,000 for intercontinental private jet travel
Furthermore, Anne requested $450,000 to cover a 10-day vacation to St. Barts for her and the kids over winter break.
And while these expenses might sound totally insane to the average person, they are not that far off from what the couple was spending prior to the separation. According to legal documents submitted by Anne's lawyers, when they were still together, the couple regularly spent over $1 million per month on expenses related to their three kids. Those three kids have four nannies by the way.
As someone who also spends $2,000 a month on stationary, I'm totally on team Anne.
