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Brant Divorce Reveals Art Budget

November 1, 2009 by Marion Maneker

It’s not nice what happens during messy public divorces. For example, court documents could reveal that you took your kids on a vacation to France last year and now everyone knows you paid $300,000 to charter a 150-ft. yacht for the week. Or it might reveal that a polo team is being dismantled and the horses sold or donated. This is what’s happening to Peter Brant who is divorcing Stephanie Seymour. For our purposes, the court papers reveal the cost of maintaining Jeff Koons’s Puppy at $100,000 a year and Brant donates nearly $2.6m each year to his Brant Foundation which maintains the museum he’s just opened across the street:

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. […] 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. […] 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. White Birch Farm is also the home of “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. […]

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 donates $216,000 a month to the Brant Foundation, which maintains an art museum across the street from White Birch Farm.

Divorce Case Reveals How the Rich Live (Connecticut Post)

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