This case is notable because it may involve a record-breaking child support judgment. Supermodel Linda Evangelista is requesting $46,000 per month in child support payments from her ex, French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault. He is now married to actress Salma Hayek.
Evangelista filed the request in a Manhattan family court earlier this week. A support magistrate says that if her request is approved, it would likely be the biggest support order in the history of the court.
So, why exactly does she need that much money? She says that, in order to raise their four-year-old son, she requires $175,000 per year for drivers who are former police detectives. She also reportedly wants $80,000 per year for a live-in nanny because she does not want to be alone with the child.
According to the New York post, Evangelista claims Pinault has not paid a penny in child support. However, he does spend $50,000 per month on a Los Angeles mansion that is held in trust in the name of his three-year-old daughter with Hayek.
The judge apparently has already turned down the supermodel’s request for $7,500 per month in vacation expenses. But, the Post notes, he does seem receptive to her pleas for driver and nanny expenses.
When asked in court how much she works in a week, the 46-year-old Evangelista could not really answer, but did say she sometimes works long days and is always working on her “image” just like an athlete would.
It is estimated that she is worth about $8 million, while her ex’s family has an estimated worth of over $11 billion.
Source: New York Post, “Model wants pretty penny,” Laura Italiano, Aug. 2, 2011