Soon-to-be divorced hedge fund billionaire John Paulson has whisked away his new Instagram guru girlfriend to Italy for a friend’s wedding.
Paulson, 65, and Alina de Almeida, 33, were spotted attending the event on the shores of Lake Como days after the hedge funder announced his high-profile divorce from his wife Jenny, 50.
The couple flew in for the nuptials of Blackstone executive Mark Moffat and Sarah Mintz in lakeside Villa d’Este on September 25 and were ‘inseparable’ and ‘canoodled all day and night’, Page Six reported.
Attendees told the outlet the pair appeared relaxed at the event, despite the looming divorce battle which could involve a messy unravelling of the Paulson’s estate as they have no prenuptial agreement.
It means the hedge funder, who has built a net worth estimated at $4.8billion after he won big betting against the US housing market, could soon see his fortune dwindle.
Soon-to-be divorced billionaire John Paulson, 65, (right) and Alina de Almeida, 33, (left) were spotted attending a wedding on the shores of Lake Como days after the hedge funder announced his high-profile divorce from his wife Jenny
Paulson and Almeida flew to Italy for a wedding at Villa d’Este, which overlooks Lake Como, on September 25 and were ‘inseparable’ and ‘canoodled all day and night’
The couple mingled during what appeared to be a cocktail hour. Paulson was seen with a drink in hand
Almeida wore a blush gown, held a gold clutch and had her brunette tendrils pulled back. Paulson wore a black tuxedo complete with patent leather shoes
The new couple was pictured watched the nuptials of Blackstone executive Mark Moffat and Sarah Mintz
It was revealed last week Paulson and Almeida were dating after Page Six sources spotted the pair several times in the Hamptons and said they were already living together in his Olympic Tower, Manhattan, apartment.
Almeida is an Instagram health guru and business owner of Effective Lifestyle, a health coaching service, with 136,000 Instagram followers.
She finished her nutrition clinicals at NY Presbyterian Hospital, which is associated with two ivy league schools Columbia and Cornell, according to her website.
‘John does have a new, much younger girlfriend and while it is still early days, the relationship is blossoming. They are very happy,’ a source told Page Six.
Another source, who declined to be named, said the pair were ‘inseparable’ as they appeared together at a wedding in Lake Como.
‘They were at each others’ sides and canoodled all day and night… they partied and ate and drank all weekend,’ the source added.
Attendees told the outlet the pair appeared relaxed at the event, which took place at the lakeside Villa d’Este (pictured), despite the looming divorce battle which could involve a messy unravelling of the Paulson’s estate as they have no prenuptial agreement
It was revealed last week Paulson (left) and Almeida (right) were dating after Page Six sources spotted the pair several times in the Hamptons and said they were already living together in his Olympic Tower, Manhattan apartment
Almeida is an Instagram health guru and business owner of Effective Lifestyle, a health coaching service, with 136,000 Instagram followers
‘Clash of the titans’: Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson and wife Jenny are divorcing after more than 20 years of marriage, setting the stage for an epic legal showdown
Paulson meanwhile has cited ‘irreconcilable differences’ as the reason for his split from his wife of 21 years, according to documents filed in Suffolk County Court on September 20.
An unnamed source told Page Six that the Paulsons have ‘been living separate lives for the past 15 years,’ despite sharing a 28,000-square-foot townhouse on East 86th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, which they purchased for $14.7 million in 2004.
The couple – who have two daughters, Giselle and Danielle – first met in the late 1990s when the woman named Jenny Zaharia delivered lunch to his offices.
He then hired the Romanian national as his assistant, reported Bloomberg.
Jenny and John Paulson have two teenage daughters, Giselle and Danielle (pictured as a family)
Paulson attended the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Queens with his family in 2014
As he approached his mid-40s, John began casting about for a wife and set his sights on Jenny, who did not smoke or drink, and had a ‘cheerful’ personality, according to a book about the hedge fund trader called The Greatest Trade Ever, by Gregory Zuckerman.
John was quoted in the book as saying that Jenny was ‘a breath of fresh air’ and he spent a year courting his assistant. However, she refused to go out with him unless he fired her and found her another job.
Jenny ultimately agreed to a lunch date with John, and after sharing 200 meals together, the investor proposed to her, according to the book.
The couple tied the knot in 2000 in an Episcopalian ceremony in Southampton.
They have since built up a real estate portfolio that includes a sprawling estate in Southampton, New York, called Old Tress, which was obtained for an eye-popping $41 million in 2008, and a luxury 95-acre property called the Hala Ranch in Aspen worth $49 million.
The Paulsons have multibillionaire-dollar real estate portfolio, including this elegant $14.7million townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side
The Paulsons also own a sprawling estate in Southampton, New York, called Old Tress, which was obtained for an eye-popping $41million in 2008
Paulson bought an apartment in Olympic Tower in Midtown, closer to the offices of his hedge fund, for $2.9million in 2010
Paulson married Jenny, his former assistant, in 2000. She is a Romanian immigrant
The ranch was built in 1991 and was originally purchased by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Bandar bin Sultan for $135 million. The estate has been ranked by Forbes magazine as the most expensive home in the United States.
Paulson also bought an apartment in Midtown, closer to the offices of his hedge fund, for $2.9million in 2010.
The two-bedroom, 1,797-square-foot luxury condo is on the 26th floor of Olympic Tower on Fifth Avenue in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
He also has major stakes in luxury resorts in Puerto Rico, including Condado Vanderbilt Hotel and St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, according to Forbes.
The anonymous source quoted by the Post described the impending legal showdown between the former power couple as ‘the clash of the titans,’ led by some of New York’s most prominent divorce lawyers.
The financier – ranked the No. 177 richest man in America in 2020 by Forbes – has retained attorney William Zabel, who has represented a string of rich and famous clients, including George Soros an Howard Stern.
‘John has deep respect for Jenny and will continue to support all that is best for the health and happiness of the family,’ Zabel said in a statement on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Jenny Paulson is said to be in talks with Robert Cohen, who had shepherded an equally impressive lineup of celebrities, among them Ivana Trump, Uma Thurman and Michael Bloomberg, through their high-profile divorces.
Cohen was most recently working with Melinda Gates on her divorce from billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, which was announced earlier this year.
Under New York’s divorce laws, courts divide only marital property, and spouses get to keep their separate property. Marital property is defined as all property acquired by either or both spouses during the marriage, regardless of who bought it.
When a couple divorces in New York, judges split property equitably – or fairly – which can result in a 50/50 property division, but not always. Judges take into consideration what each spouse contributed to the marriage.
The Paulsons own a luxury 95-acre ranch in Aspen worth $49million
The sprawling ranch in Aspen previously belonged to a Saudi prince, who originally bought it for $135million, making it the most expensive home in the US
Paulson was born in Queens, New York and attended school in the Whitestone neighborhood.
He graduated from NYU and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. In 1994, he founded his own hedge fund called Paulson & Co.
He spent his 30s as a hotshot bachelor, living in a loft in SoHo in downtown Manhattan, rubbing elbows with celebrities and models.
Paulson became a celebrity in the world of finance when in 2007 he made an unprecedent bet against the then-booming housing market, predicting that the subprime loan bubble would burst.
When Paulson’s forecast came to pass, he and his investors walked away from the financial calamity $20 billion richer.
Paulson’s hedge funds managed $38 billion at their height in 2011, which shrank to $8 billion by the end of 2019.
On the heels of the heavy losses, Paulson converted his hedge fund into a family investment firm last year.