Billionaire Israel Englander Shells Out $1 Billion in Divorce Settlement to Wife Who Left Him for a Woman
Manhattan society is gossiping about a hedge fund billionaire, a resident of the New York borough, settling a lawsuit filed by his wife and paying her $1 billion as part of their divorce.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Israel Englander — one of the world’s richest men — has agreed to pay former wife Caryl Englander upwards of $1 billion after she left him for a woman, following more than 40 years of marriage. The divorce settlement comes after Caryl, 68, filed an astonishing civil lawsuit alleging the 74-year-old Millennium Management co-founder — who is worth $ 11.3 billion, according to Forbes — “became enraged” when she “fell in love” with Swiss gallerist Dominique Levy, 55.
Ms. Levy owns the prestigious Dominique Levy Gallery on Madison Avenue, which sells works by artists such as Gerhard Richter, Frank Stella, Cindy Sherman, and Jackson Pollock, Page Six reports. Caryl's lawyer, Peter E Bronstein, confirmed that his client settled the case amicably. An agreement prevents the two parties from discussing the terms.
Caryl left her husband, who is worth $11.3 billion, for Swiss gallerist Dominique Levy, 55, which reportedly sent Israel into a fit of rage, and he "terrorized" the women after he was "deeply humiliated" that she left him for a woman. Their relationship hit the rocks in 2016 due to Israel's "repeated unfaithfulness to Caryl," she claimed in a civil suit. She also cited in the lawsuit that she fell in love with Dominique.
The lawsuit was later dropped just weeks before their divorce was finalized. Before their settlement, Caryl claimed Israel hired private investigators, made spurious calls to report them to the NYPD for child abuse, and embarked on a smear campaign in the media. The billionaire "set out to terrorize the two women to force a break in their relationship, believing he could intimidate Caryl into 'waking up' and coming back to him," the filing alleges.
In the civil suit, filed on February 9, the two women alleged Israel “terrorized” them both and forced Caryl to sign a series of trust agreements and other financial documents, including a 2020 post-nuptial agreement. This, the filing continues, "stripped her of her equitable share of the billions of dollars of marital assets that the couple had built and accumulated together over four decades of marriage." The filing was mysteriously withdrawn a week later — and the divorce was just settled privately out of court.
Caryl’s lawyer Peter E Bronstein, from Rottenstreich, Lieberman, Farley LLP, exclusively confirmed to the news outlet, “Caryl is happy to have settled their issues privately and amicably. The agreement does not allow either party to discuss the terms.” Israel’s attorney John Teitler didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The divorce settlement includes the former couple’s massive real estate portfolio portion and sizable art collection. Caryl is to receive an ex-couple large property portfolio, which includes a $25 million waterfront estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, reported Business Standard.
