It looks like the Macklowes are headed toward an ugly fight over billions of dollars worth of real estate and art.
Developer Harry Macklowe [TRDataCustom] and his wife of 57 years, Linda, filed for divorce last month, and now — sans a prenuptial agreement — the two are preparing to “fight over everything,” a source told the New York Post. “Everything” includes $1 billion worth of art, which Linda Macklowe currently controls and which, the Post reports, she intends to keep. Both have hired high-profile divorce attorneys.
The divorce reportedly followed Macklowe’s decision to leave his wife for his girlfriend, Patricia Landeau. One source told the newspaper that problems between the Macklowes dated back to 2008, when the developer defaulted on his loans and lost most of his properties, including the General Motors Building. At the time, his wife refused to sell off her art and other property to curb some of his losses, the source said. Another source told the newspaper that this version of events was not true.
Since then Macklowe has bounced back in New York real estate, co-developing 432 Park Avenue and Converting 737 Park Avenue into a 60-unit condominium. Macklowe reportedly “hid” Landeau in an apartment at 737 Park for as long as two years. [Page Six] — Kathryn Brenzel