‘Wealthiest Divorcée in History’ Files for Bankruptcy, Gets a Hand from the Donald

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Dave M. Benett / Getty Images

Patricia Kluge with her husband, William Moses, at a Cartier gala in 2003

It turns out heartbreak doesn’t pay. Patricia Kluge was once known as “the wealthiest divorcee in history” when she was awarded a reported $1 billion after splitting with media mogul John Kluge in 1990.

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But the one-time “pin-up girl” (according to the New York Post) seems to have been no luckier with her finances than she was in love. After becoming known as a glittering socialite and hostess in her 300-plus-acre Virginia estate (where she produced and bottled her own wine), Kluge has run into problems. She and her third husband, William Moses, have defaulted on their loans, and accumulated a reported $46 million in liabilities. The pair have now filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

But at least Kluge, now 62, has retained some high-profile friends. After the lender seized her winery,  Donald Trump put forth the winning bid of $6.2 million at the foreclosure sale of the vineyard in April. Trump and Kluge have known each other for decades, and there’s no more knight-in-shining-suit than The Donald, right?

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