What is Howard K. Stern's Net Worth?
Howard K. Stern is an American attorney who has a net worth of $500 thousand. Howard K. Stern became widely recognized outside of the legal world, when he began dating Anna Nicole Smith. He was with her in the Bahamas when her son died of an accidental overdose of antidepressants. When she passed away five months later, he became part of a lengthy court battle over her infant daughter, Dannielynn.
Howard K. Stern was initially listed as the father on the birth certificate. However, subsequent paternity tests revealed that the child was not his. He has found himself back in court multiple times over the last few years, primarily in regards to his involvement with the death of Anna Nicole Smith. From 2002 to 2004, he starred alongside her on the reality sitcom "The Anna Nicole Show" on the E! network. Later, in 2019, Stern joined the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office.
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Early Life and Education
Howard K. Stern was born on November 29, 1968 in Los Angeles, California to a Jewish family. For his higher education, he went to the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1990. Stern went on to attend law school and earn his Juris Doctor degree from UCLA. In early 1994, he was admitted to the State Bar of California.
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Relationship with Anna Nicole Smith
Stern first became involved with Anna Nicole Smith in the mid-90s when his law firm handled her modeling contracts. He became more directly involved with her in 1998 after her husband J. Howard Marshall passed away. During Smith's trial to secure Marshall's fortune, Stern presented her direct examination. He gained more widespread attention in 2002 when he began costarring with Smith on the E! reality television sitcom "The Anna Nicole Show." On the show, which followed the exploits of Smith and her entourage, Stern was depicted as a cold and calculating man who was frequently at odds with interior decorator Bobby Trendy. "The Anna Nicole Show" ultimately ran for three seasons through 2004. During this time, Stern ran the talent agency Hot Smoochie Lips, of which Smith was a client.
In September of 2006, Stern and Smith exchanged wedding vows in a legally non-binding ceremony in the Bahamas that was officiated by a Baptist minister. Early the next year, Smith died of a combined drug intoxication, just months after her 20-year-old son Daniel passed away from an accidental overdose. She had left everything to her son, and named Stern executor of her estate. Smith was buried beside her son in the Bahamas.
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Paternity Dispute
During a CNN interview with Larry King in 2006, Stern claimed to be the father of Smith's infant daughter Dannielynn; however, celebrity photographer Larry Birkhead also claimed to be the father. On the girl's Bahamian birth certificate, Stern was listed as the father. He took custody of Dannielynn in early 2007 following the death of Smith. Not long after that, however, a Bahamian court determined from DNA evidence that Larry Birkhead was indeed the real father of Dannielynn. Stern did not contest the ruling, and subsequently helped Birkhead obtain sole custody of the child. He remained on good terms with him over the subsequent years.
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Conspiracy Charge
In March of 2009, Stern, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich were charged with conspiracy to prescribe, administer, and dispense controlled substances to an addict; this was not in relation to Smith's death. After the trial, Stern and Eroshevich were found guilty, while Kapoor was acquitted. Later, in 2011, Stern's conviction was dismissed by a judge. It was dismissed a second time in 2015, with the judge claiming that Stern had been unjustly targeted due to being a figure in the public eye.
Libel Lawsuit
Howard K. Stern enlisted the law firm Powell Goldstein to file a $60 million libel lawsuit against journalist Rita Cosby, who alleged in her book "Blonde Ambition" that Anna Nicole Smith's nannies had a sex tape showing Stern and Larry Birkhead in a gay relationship. In her deposition, Cosby revealed that her sources for the sex tape were private investigators Don Clark and Wilma Vicedomine, who had been hired by attorney John O'Quinn. Earlier, a spokesperson for Smith's nannies claimed that Cosby had offered bribes in a failed attempt to contact the nannies. In 2009, federal judge Denny Chin ruled that Cosby's actions were troubling and included efforts to obstruct justice, and allowed the majority of Stern's lawsuit to proceed. The lawsuit was ultimately settled out-of-court in late 2009.
