Robert De Niro’s attorneys said the actor’s finances have been greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a Manhattan court, De Niro argued against claims from his estranged wife, Grace Hightower, that he had unfairly cut her credit card limit and banned their two children from the New York compound where he has been staying during quarantine, per Page Six.
Caroline Krauss, De Niro’s attorney, said the actor had to rearrange his finances as his restaurant businesses are floundering at this unprecedented time.
She claims Nobu lost $3 million in April and $1.87 million in May, while De Niro had to borrow money to pay investors $500,000 “because he doesn’t have the cash.”
“His accounts and business manager says that the best case for Mr. De Niro — if everything starts to turn around this year — he is going to be lucky if he makes $7.5 million this year,” Krauss said.
The money he earned from “The Irishman” has already been “paid out,” according to Krauss.
She added, “These people, in spite of his robust earnings, have always spent more than he has earned so this 76-year-old robust man couldn’t retire even if he wanted to because he can’t afford to keep up with his lifestyle expense.”
Hightower’s attorney, Kevin McDonough, responded, per the outlet, by saying, “Mr. De Niro has used the COVID pandemic, my words would be, to stick it to his wife financially.”
“I’m not a believer that a man who has an admitted worth of $500 million and makes $30 million a year, all of a sudden in March he needs to cut down [spousal support] by 50 percent and ban her from the house.”
The judge orderd De Niro to keep Hightower’s credit card limit at $50,000 while he paid her $75,000 to find a summer home for her and their two children.
The pair originally married in 1997, divorced in 1999 and reunited in 2004. They officially separated in 2018.
