One of the world's richest men has paid his ex-wife an incredible $1billion in a divorce settlement - after she left him for a woman.
Billionaire hedge fund heavyweight Israel 'Izzy' Englander, 74, has reportedly agreed to pay his ex-wife Caryl upwards of $1billion to quietly settle a divorce that reportedly scandalised the high society of Manhattan, New York.
In an astonishing turn of events, Millennium Management co-founder Mr Englander saw his 69-year-old ex-wife walk out of his life and file a startling civil lawsuit, after more than 40 years of marriage.
The remarkable lawsuit alleged Mr Englander "became enraged" when Caryl "fell in love" with art dealer Dominique Lévy, who is co-founder of prestigious international art gallery Lévy Gorvy, with offices in New York City, London, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Paris.
Caryl's lawsuit contained several allegations against New York-born Mr Englander, made by both women.
The New York Post's Page Six the two women alleged Mr Englander "terrorised" them in an apparent attempt to "bilk" Caryl out of billions in the divorce by forcing her to sign a post-nuptual agreement in the year 2020.
Mysteriously, the filing made on February 9 was then withdrawn a week later, and now the divorce has been settled privately out of court, it is reported.
Caryl’s lawyer Peter E Bronstein, of law firm Rottenstreich, Lieberman, Farley LLP, told Page Six: "Caryl is happy to have settled their issues privately and amicably. The agreement does not allow either party to discuss the terms."
The lawsuit also claimed the 40-year marriage fell apart in 2016 after Mr Englander's “repeated unfaithfulness to Caryl,” it is reported.
Caryl and Ms Lévy made the claim in the civil lawsuit, filed to the New York Supreme Court, and stated: "She fell in love with another woman, Dominique."
It went on to allege that Mr Englander then “set out to terrorise the two women to force a break in their relationship, believing he could intimidate Caryl into ‘waking up’ and coming back to him."
It added: "As he openly confessed to numerous people in Dominique’s professional circle, Israel vowed to 'destroy' Dominique and her business."
The lawsuit also alleged Mr Englander had the two women followed and photographed, and had their phones and emails hacked in what the suit described as a “years-long campaign of duress”.
It also claimed that Mr Englander "outed" Caryl to their children without her consent and "disclosed Caryl’s relationship with Dominique, whom he labeled a ‘viper'," while they were celebrating the Jewish High Holidays together as a family, in September 2017.
It claimed Mr Englander "blamed Dominique for destroying their family."
The divorced couple married in 1975 and have three adult children.
The lawsuit claimed Mr Englander's "campaign of terror" meant Caryle was "barely eating or sleeping."
This saw her agree to a 2020 post-nuptial agreement "under duress, thus forfeiting billions of dollars of joint marital property that she and Israel had built together over more than 40 years of marriage," the lawsuit alleged.
The filing claimed Mr Englander got "more than 95% of the value of their marital assets, and near total control over the few assets and funds available to Caryl."
A source told Page Six: “He scared the living hell out of Caryl and he scared the life out of her girlfriend. Dominique’s art business was almost destroyed, he tried to cut out most of her clients, and he threatened he could kill her in business because he’s so powerful.”
Another source told how many felt the situation had left Mr Englander feeling deeply humiliated and this was made worse by the fact that New York society was gossiping about the fact Caryl had left him for a woman.
The huge divorce settlement is said to include a part of the divorced couple's massive property and art collections. Bloomberg reported how they had paid a then-record $71.3 million for an apartment at swanky 740 Park Ave., which is reportedly one of New York's landmark buildings for heavyweight brokers.
The 18-room apartment was for family members to use while visiting, and the then-couple already owned another one in the building, it is reported. They also own several properties around the world, worth many millions, and were previously named one of the top 200 art collectors in the world.
