Taxpayer CEO bailout for wives, ex-wives, mistresses, and girlfriends?

Marie Douglas-David leaves Hartford Superior Court Family Court in Hartford during a break from her divorce court case with former United Technologies CEO George David on Wednesday. (ROSS TAYLOR / HARTFORD COURANT / December 17, 2008)

David Divorce Case
Wife Of UTC's George David Has Expenses Of $53,000 A Week

By MARYELLEN FILLO | The Hartford Courant
December 18, 2008

Marie Douglas-David, the estranged wife of United Technologies Corp.'s former CEO and current board Chairman George David, says that her weekly expenses run more than $53,000, documents filed in the couple's divorce case show.

But she has zero income, few assets that can be quickly exchanged for cash and she owes more than she owns, according to the documents.

So the $978,000 that David tentatively agreed Wednesday to pay the Swedish-born countess should support her as they negotiate a permanent separation.

How does Douglas-David, 36, rack up those expenses week after week?

Real estate accounts for a lot of it, including mortgage, maintenance fees, rent or other costs for a Park Avenue apartment, a Hamptons residence and several properties in Sweden.

But travel ($8,000), clothing ($4,500), hair and skin care ($1,000), dry cleaning ($650) and flowers ($600), among many other items, contribute to the total.

Dry cleaning does not include fur storage and cleaning ($45).

And that's when Douglas-David is cutting back.

"While recognizing that many of these expenses may seem high, most are lower than prior to the commencement of this case in August 2007," a footnote in her financial affidavit says.

These expenses and others, some estimated by Douglas-David, are detailed in the six-page affidavit her lawyers submitted.

A trial is scheduled for March 2009, unless there is a settlement.

Testimony given at a Hartford Family Court hearing Wednesday offered further glimpses into the lives of the jet-setting, on-again, off-again couple, who married in Greenwich in 2002.

During three hours of testimony, David, 66, who stepped down as UTC's chief executive last April, acknowledged jewelry purchases for his wife, including a $138,582 diamond engagement ring, $100,000 diamond earrings and a pair of $255,000 diamond earring studs from the prestigious Harry Winston jewelry store.

She might wear them, but he owns them, which explains why she lists the value of her jewelry as just $5,000.

A $98,000 Mercedes-Benz and $1.12 million apartment in Sweden were other purchases that David made for his wife during the marriage, purchases that he acknowledged were left in his name to dodge gift taxes.

The two, who maintained residences in Connecticut, New York City and the Hamptons, according to testimony and documents, hobnobbed as a couple at dinners and balls with high-powered people such as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev and business moguls Rupert Murdoch and Alain Belda.

There were trips together on UTC corporate jets to China, Germany, Paris, London, Jamaica, Palm Beach and the Bahamas, and vacations to St. Tropez on a chartered yacht called Braveheart. Sometimes, friends came along.

David always paid the bill: With her husband's support, Douglas-David quit her job with Lazard Asset Management in 2003, she said in the documents.

Her total assets amount to $4,372,526, while her debts come to $5,666,867 — including $2.9 million that she owes to David for loans that he made to her, the affidavit shows.

Lawyers for Douglas-David said that her husband, a U.S. industry legend, should pay for their services, too.

"This is precisely the type of case where there should be award of counsel costs," said William Beslow, one of Douglas-David's attorneys.

David's attorney, former state Appellate Court Judge Anne C. Dranginis, said that the argument should not center on how much money David has, but on a contested post-nuptial agreement that earmarks $43 million for Douglas-David upon divorce.

"She has $43 million," said Dranginis. "She is not destitute. She has a lot of money, more than she will ever need, no matter what the outcome."

Courant Staff Writer Eric Gershon contributed to this story.

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Susan Sosin allegedly cheats on her husband with a rock climbing guide, gets a $43,000,000 from her AIG CEO husband. [more]

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