Despite being one of the most famous actors around the world, Robert De Niro claimed that the global pandemic has seriously affected his finances.
This information was disclosed in court where his ex-wife asked De Niro to double her monthly credit card limit.
Grace Hightower, De Niro’s former wife, and her lawyer argued in a Manhattan divorce court that the actor suddenly cut the monthly card limit by half from $100,000 to $50,000 per month.
Hightower also argued that both she and the children between the couple were not allowed into the Upstate New York residence where De Niro has been socially distancing himself since Covid-19.
However, De Niro and his lawyers explained that the decrease was necessary because the actor’s business has been all but stopped because of the global pandemic. In particular, the partial or complete closure of his restaurant Nobu and Greenwich Hotel was cited as the main reason.
De Niro’s legal team showed how Nobu, a restaurant that De Niro has stakes in, lost nearly $5 million in April and May as it remained closed due to the social distancing measures.
In fact, the lawyers said how De Niro was forced to borrow $500,000 from his business partners to insure investors that Nobu will not go bankrupt because of the virus.
Furthermore, the couple had agreed before their marriage that the actor only has to pay Hightower $1 million annually only when De Niro makes over $15 million. In the pre-marriage contract, it is clearly written that should the actor’s income fall below that, his wife’s payment will also decrease.
The actor’s lawyers argued that De Niro is expected to make $7.5 million this at best. According to the 2004 agreement that the couple made prior to the marriage, this means that the actor can halve the monthly payment.
Hightower’s lawyers refuted the claims from De Niro, saying that they find it hard to believe that an actor with a personal worth of $500 million suddenly feels the need to halve his payments to his wife and ban her and his own children from joining him in his luxurious mansion.
Share with us your thoughts on this issue, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more news like this one.
Replaced!