Peter Brant, Big Spender
Model Stephanie Seymour and paper mogul Peter Brant have been in the middle of a nasty divorce the past few months, a feud that has required the police to intervene on more than one occasion. While the case plays itself out in the courts, a judge issued some "financial ground rules" recently, a ruling that requires Brant to pay Seymour $270,000 a month in alimony and child support. But that isn't all that much when you consider what Brant normally spends his money on:
The Brants live in a house on the farm described by Brant as being in the style of Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington...
White Birch Farm is also the home of "Puppy," a very large sculpture by modern artist Jeff Koons. Brant pays maintenance of the sculpture of between $75,000 and $100,000 a year.
The Brants have a staff of seven in their home and another 15 work the farm. He contributes $500,000 a month to support the farm.
His financial affidavit shows that Brant spends about $30,000 a month on household supplies, which he states may be anything from "toothpaste to towels."
Brant donates $216,000 a month to the Brant Foundation, which maintains an art museum across the street from White Birch Farm.
This past summer Brant took his children on a one-week trip to the south of France. He chartered a 150-foot yacht for $300,000.
Then again, Brant's main occupation—when he isn't playing polo or looking after his collection of niche magazines like Interview—is selling newsprint, which isn't exactly a growth industry these days. Brant reports business has been down 20 percent over the past two years. So perhaps that explains why he objected to Seymour's shopping sprees, and says he would have preferred her to jump on a plane and go to Paris to buy clothes at discount, instead of shopping for full-price items at Bergdorf Goodman. But who knew Brant was such a fashionista?
He said he did not understand why she was paying retail at Bergdorf's when she could get clothes, at a discounted price, from the atelier in Paris of their friend, the designer Azzedine Alaia, who Mr. Brant considers to be the best couture designer of the 20th century," the judge writes in her decision.
Seymour, Brant divorce case reveals lavish lifestyle [Stamford Advocate]