Robert De Niro arrives for the 92nd Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 9, 2020. Image: Robyn Beck/AFP
Robert De Niro is among many around the world whose finances were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, according to his lawyer.
The actor’s lawyer Caroline Krauss defended his decision to cut the credit card limit of his ex-wife Grace Hightower from $100,000 to $50,000, Page Six reported on July 9.
Krauss told the court that the restaurant chain Nobu and Greenwich Hotel, where De Niro has stakes, have suffered losses because they were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The former couple’s prenuptial agreement states that De Niro has to pay Hightower $1 million a year if he’s earning $15 million or more in income. Payment to his ex-wife will be adjusted if he earns less than the said amount.
Actor Robert De Niro (L) and Grace Hightower attend the 45th Chaplin Award Gala at the Alice Tully Hall on April 30, 2018 in New York City. Image: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/AFP
Krauss said he would be lucky to make $7.5 million this year, citing his accounts and business manager.
Hightower’s lawyer Kevin McDonough refused to believe the argument, stating that besides slashing her monthly allowance, Hightower has been banned from staying in the compound where De Niro has been living during the pandemic.
“Mr. De Niro has used the COVID pandemic, my words would be, to stick it to his wife financially,” he said.
“I’m not a believer that a man who has an admitted worth of $500 million and makes $30 million a year, all of a sudden in March he needs to cut down [spousal support] by 50% and ban her from the house.”
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper ruled that De Niro should maintain the $50,000 credit card limit and pay her $75,000 to find a home to stay with her kids when they are not with De Niro and his other kids.
De Niro filed for divorce from Hightower after over 20 years of marriage. They have two kids together. Niña V. Guno/JB
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