This is not an article about those who ventured west in the early days of American history to seek their fortunes panning for gold, but the people who make a tidy living off marrying good and divorcing even better.
I am sure that if I asked the question of whether you could name a gold digger you could come up with a name or two. This article will outline exactly what a gold digger is and does. Enjoy the read.
A gold digger will resort to just about any means to get a leg up in life. The operative word here is ANY. Most gold diggers are women who hook up with rich men, get them to marry them, and then typically divorce them taking a lot of money with them. Usually, this includes bearing the man’s children. A vast number of these women marry elderly men who are near death. Gold diggers can also be men. Let’s take a look at some of them.
One of the best examples of this gold-digging was Anna Nicole Smith, but she is far from the only one. Anna had been a model and was a Playboy centerfold in March of 1992. She was awarded the prestigious Playmate of the Year in the 1993 Playboy edition. She was married twice. Her second marriage was where she hit gold. She married the aged 89-year-old J. Howard Marshall in 1985 and stayed his wife until he died in 1993. He was worth $1.6 Billion dollars! Once dead she had to fight for
what was his, but she was awarded over $474 Million dollars.
Por golfer Tiger Woods married his nanny Elin Nordgren and they had two children. When she found out about his cheating she promptly filed for divorce. She got $100 Million dollars in their settlement. Shortly after the ink dried dated coal magnate Chris Cline and then she married Miami Dolphin football player, Jordan Cameron and had another child.
Actress Amy Irving married film producer/director Steven Spielberg in 1985. They divorced in 1989 and she was awarded $100 Million dollars in their settlement. She went on to marry and divorce two more film directors. (Getty images below)
Actress Anne Hathaway fell in love with a real estate scam artist by the name of Raffaello Follieri. Fortunately, they never married. However, he absconded with over $50 Million dollars and was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. He was deported to Italy.
In 2002 Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles and model Heather Mills were wed. He was sixty and she was thirty-four. In 2003 she gave birth to a daughter and divorced Paul in 2008 walking away with a cool $50 Million dollars.
One of Madonna’s several husbands was Guy Ritchie. He simply lived off all of her accumulated wealth for the duration of their relationship and marriage. When they divorced he was awarded $80 Million dollars.
In 2009 singer Katy Perry married comedian/actor Russell Brand. They remained married for a scant fourteen months after which he walked away with twenty-two million dollars.
Former President Donald Trump and Ivana were married for nearly twenty years. When she divorced him for diddling with Marla Maples she got a $20 million dollar settlement and a $14 million dollar home and $350,000 per year alimony. They somehow remained friends and business associates up until she died.
Rock star Rod Stewart fell for model Rachel Hunter. They were married for sixteen years and had two children. In 2006 they divorced and she was given $65 million dollars. Afterward, she dated a couple of Canadian hockey players and married the second one.
Helg Sgarbi planned his gold-digging to the T. He was known for swindling more than $38 Million dollars from various rich and unsuspecting women. He was found guilty of blackmail and fraud and sentenced to six years in prison.
Performer Phil Collins married his translator Orianne Cevey in 1999. They had two children and divorced in 2006. She won $46 Million dollars in that venture.
Dancer Rene Elizondo secretly married actress/singer Janet Jackson in the 1990’s. In 2000 they divorced and he was handed a $10 Million dollar settlement.
This does not highlight everyone who is a gold-digger, but a fair sampling of both men and women who wore that title and won big. The moral of that lesson is if you have money be aware that there are smooth-talking and walking people who would love nothing more than to take some of your hard-earned money.
References:
https://allthatsinteresting.com/gold-digger
https://finance.alot.com/personal-finance/historys-30-greediest-gold-diggers–12209
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Nicole_Smith
Photos courtesy of Getty Images