White Birch Polo Team Peter Brant, right
Peter Brant’s divorce case has produced some interesting details on how a silly heir with too much money squanders it – it didn’t all go to “Santa with Butt Plug”, although he spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a month supporting his “art” museum.
Yes, there is another half and they do live lavishly.
A Superior Court judge in Middletown recently issued an order in the divorce case of newsprint magnate Peter Brant, of Greenwich, and his wife, former Victoria’s Secret model Stephanie Seymour, that sets out the financial ground rules while the divorce is still pending.
Starting Oct. 23, Brant, who lists assets of about $490 million, was to begin paying his wife of 16 years $270,000 a month in alimony and support for their three children, according to the order of Judge Elaine Gordon.
But that appears just to be drop in the bucket to what Brant is worth, according to the judge’s decision.
The decision states that Brant’s monthly net income this year has been $1.552 million.
The family lives on White Birch Farm in Greenwich, a property solely owned by Brant. The farm, which Brant describes in court documents as a working farm, is 200 acres. It has also been home to a professional polo team supported by Brant. Documents state that Brant is in the process of dismantling the team and selling or giving away “40 some odd,” polo ponies he owns. He states that some of the ponies which are “not worth much,” $10,000 to $15,000, have been given away to colleges or universities.
The Brants live in a house on the farm described by Brant as being in the style of Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. It is between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet.
“Puppy,” a very large sculpture by modern artist Jeff Koons. Brant pays maintenance of the sculpture of between $75,000 and $100,000 a year. Also on the property is the Venturi House, a 5,200- square foot home designed by architect Robert Venturi.
In addition, the family has two other multimillion-dollar homes, one in Sagaponack, N.Y., and the other in Palm Beach, Florida.
The Brants have a staff of seven in their home and another 15 work the farm. He contributes $500,000 a month to support the farm.
His financial affidavit shows that Brant spends about $30,000 a month on household supplies, which he states may be anything from “toothpaste to towels.” Brant donates $216,000 a month to the Brant Foundation, which maintains an art museum across the street from White Birch Farm.
This past summer Brant took his children on a one-week trip to the south of France. He chartered a 150-foot yacht for $300,000.
According to Brant, his newsprint business is suffering from lower demand and prices and business is off 20 percent in the last two years. But, he says, he is making efforts to control costs in a difficult market.
