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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallBilly Joel said in a 1990 interview that his first divorce cost him money, but the available reporting does not establish how much he paid or what share of his wealth it represented. The much-cited $90 million figure was the amount of a lawsuit against his former business manager—not a divorce settlement or a proven loss.
What did Billy Joel say about the cost of his first divorce?
In a 1990 profile, Joel recalled that money from his early success went to his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, and to taxes: “After my first couple of years of success, I got divorced and that’s where that {money} went, between {Elizabeth} and Uncle Sam.” The Washington Post’s 1990 account gives no settlement amount or accounting that would show how much of his money went to the divorce.
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That is evidence Joel remembered the divorce as costly; it is not an audited figure. It cannot establish the portion of his net worth lost to divorce, either then or over the course of his life.
Where does the $90 million figure come from?
The $90 million figure refers to a lawsuit Joel filed against Frank Weber, his former business manager and Elizabeth Weber’s brother. Joel alleged fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. Those were allegations, not findings established in the cited report. Frank Weber’s lawyer denied wrongdoing and said the acts had been authorized and ratified by Joel. The amount sought in a lawsuit should not be confused with money a person lost or recovered.
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Elizabeth Weber had served as Joel’s manager and business adviser as well as his wife. That overlap helps explain why accounts of his finances can mention marriage and business relationships together; it does not make the management dispute a divorce expense.
What do later reports say about Joel’s financial losses?
A later account in The New Yorker says Joel received settlements totaling roughly $10 million from broader litigation, while most of the money at issue was never recovered. It also describes his efforts to disentangle himself from contracts, investments, tax shelters, and partnerships. These figures concern business and litigation entanglements, not a documented divorce settlement.
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| Financial episode | What the reporting establishes | What the figure does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| First divorce | Joel said in 1990 that money went to Elizabeth and taxes; the report gives no divorce-only total. (The Washington Post) | It does not establish a settlement amount or a share of Joel’s net worth. |
| Lawsuit against Frank Weber | Joel sued for $90 million, alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary duty; Weber’s lawyer denied wrongdoing. (The Washington Post) | $90 million was the amount of the lawsuit, not a proven loss or divorce payment. |
| Later litigation settlements | The New Yorker reported settlements totaling roughly $10 million and said most of the money was not recovered. (The New Yorker) | This is not a divorce-only settlement or a calculation of net worth lost. |
What is known about Joel’s marriages and divorces?
Elizabeth Weber
Joel married Weber in 1973 and they divorced in 1982. She had also worked as his manager and business adviser. Joel’s 1990 recollection is the clearest cited statement about divorce costs, but it does not provide a sum. Biography.com’s account covers their relationship and her professional role.
Christie Brinkley
Joel married Brinkley in 1985, and she filed for divorce in 1994. The Los Angeles Times’ coverage of Brinkley’s memoir recounts her description of marital distress, including Joel’s drinking, but does not state a financial settlement amount.
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Katie Lee and Alexis Roderick
Joel married Katie Lee in 2004; the couple confirmed their separation in June 2009. TIME’s account of a later documentary summarizes Lee’s recollections of age and lifestyle differences and her view that Joel resented her urging him to seek treatment. The cited coverage does not connect the separation to a specific financial loss. Joel married Alexis Roderick in 2015, so “failed marriages” refers to earlier relationships that ended, not every marriage.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can we say his divorces caused him to lose a huge chunk of his net worth?
No precise divorce-only total or calculation of the share of Joel’s net worth lost to divorces is established by these reports. Joel’s remark supports saying he regarded his first divorce as costly. It does not support a specific dollar amount, a percentage, or the broader claim that failed marriages consumed a huge chunk of his wealth. The lawsuit, later settlements, and investment problems belong to separate financial episodes.
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