Billionaire Ex Sues Ellen Barkin
There just doesn’t seem to be any makeup in the ugly divorce of cosmetics king Ronald Perelman and his ex-wife, Ellen Barkin.
The Revlon mogul has filed suit against the actress and and her brother, George Barkin, claiming that they’re siphoning off funds from a production company the trio started in 2005.
According to papers filed on the billionaire’s behalf in Manhattan Supreme Court, the two have been using the film company, Applehead I, as a private piggy bank.
The documents further claim that the Barkins “covertly established” their own production company, called Applehead II, earlier this year, and have been using Applehead I’s cash to help run it.
The suit also alleges that George Barkin is collecting a $250,000 salary from Applehead I, even though he has “rendered no or few services of value.”
“We were initially disappointed at Ms. Barkin’s attempts to further enrich herself after the divorce,” Perelman’s rep told the Associated Press. “We are further disappointed to learn of her additional actions to further enrich herself, her family and friends.”
When the couple divorced in 2006, the Ocean’s Thirteen star, 54, received a $40 million settlement from the 64-year-old Perelman, who once estimated his net worth at $5 billion.
She sued her ex in August, claiming that Perelman had promised during their marriage to invest $3.4 million in her production company, and then reneged.
“Rather than pay that money, Mr. Perelman would prefer to file additional frivolous lawsuits,” a lawyer for Applehead told Bloomberg News. “It’s a distraction from the real issue, the payments he promised to make.”
