Robert De Niro Claims He’s Overworking Himself Because His Estranged Wife Keeps Spending His Money
We’re back again with another messy update on Robert De Niro’s ongoing divorce from his estranged wife Grace Hightower. Robert has continually accused Grace of acting like a human Hoover and sucking up every last dime in his bank account, and it was previously reported that Grace’s spending forced him to take crappy film roles just for the pay check. The latest allegation from Bobby D is that even working round-the-clock on those crappy gigs, he’s still not making enough money. Dear science: please find a 25th hour in the day, so Robert De Niro might have a fighting chance to prevent his finances from dipping into the red.
77-year-old Robert and 66-year-old Grace recently had a divorce hearing to discus the financial situation between them. There is a prenup in place, that they signed in 2004 when they renewed their vows after a five-year separation, but according to Page Six, it likely doesn’t apply until they’re officially divorced. So in the meantime, they need to work out who gets what. Grace has allegedly demanded $250 million of Robert’s cash from a net worth her lawyers estimated at $500 million. Robert has fired back, accusing Grace’s legal team of demanding to see every single receipt he’s ever been issued during their marriage. Most recently, we learned that he had cut Grace’s monthly AmEx allowance from $100,000 a month to $50,000, due to not making a whole lot of money during the pandemic. According to their recent hearing, Grace has been bumped back up to the $100,000 a month allowance, but her lawyers argue he’s being stingy. Robert De Niro’s lawyers agree that he’s being stingy, but that’s just because he literally doesn’t have a dime to his name. Apparently, Bobby has Tori Spelling problems. He might not be able to pay the tax man:
[His lawyer Caroline] Krauss claimed that in the years leading up to their separation, Hightower was spending more and more. In just 2019, she had spent $1.67 million – including buying a diamond worth $1.2 million from jeweler Kwiat, the lawyer said.
Krauss said De Niro is behind millions of dollars on his taxes and that the money from his next two movie projects will go toward paying off those liabilities. De Niro – who was clobbered with a $6.4 million tax lien in 2015 – has previously said the pandemic decimated his finances.
Robert De Niro got rich from his film career, but then got rich rich from being a co-owner of the expensive celebrity-favorite sushi restaurant franchise, Nobu. But because the pandemic has slowed the restaurant industry down to a halt, he hasn’t made as much money as he’s used to. But still, even without the pandemic, a $6.4 million tax lien is a pretty bad look. And when you owe that much to Uncle Sam, you’re already living nervous enough, and that’s without the added anxiety of wondering if the person who has access to your money just casually dropped a million on a diamond.
Another level of messiness comes from Robert fighting a note in their prenup that states if they should split up, that they sell their $20 million Manhattan apartment and split the profits. He wants Grace to continue living there with their two kids, Elliot, 23, and Helen, 9. Robert’s lawyers argue that given the choice between selling the apartment or giving in to Grace’s money demands, he’d happily sell. His lawyer also argues that Robert De Niro is an old man, and he can’t keep working like he allegedly has been:
“Mr. De Niro is 77 years old, and while he loves his craft, he should not be forced to work at this prodigious pace because he has to,” Krauss told a Manhattan judge during a virtual divorce hearing.
“When does that stop? When does he get the opportunity to not take every project that comes along and not work six-day weeks, 12-hour days so he can keep pace with Ms. Hightower’s thirst for Stella McCartney? He could get sick tomorrow, and the party’s over.”
To be fair to Grace and her allegedly unquenchable thirst for Stella McCartney, but she’s doing a great community service by dropping thousands on Stella’s clothing. How else is poor Stella supposed to keep the lights on when her most A-list clients refuse to repurchase?
According to his IMDb page, Robert De Niro currently has six projects in production, including an upcoming period film by David O. Russell, and Martin Scorsese’s upcoming adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon. That is a lot of work for a guy rounding 80. Just let the man relax at home, collecting residual checks. And if he does need a little extra cash, he can launch a Cameo account. “Are you talkin’ to me? Are you talkin’ to me? Well, I’m talking to you, and for $75 I’ll wish you a very happy birthday!”
Pic: Wenn.com