Moon hero Buzz in fight with family over his cash
Aldrin is a strong advocate for a colonisation of Mars ASTRONAUT Buzz Aldrin is suing two of his children and his former business manager alleging they stole money from him and are slandering his reputation.
The second man to step on the moon after Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 also claims they are stopping him from getting married.
The lawsuit was filed after the children petitioned to take control of his finances. They asked a judge to name them as his legal guardians, saying he is suffering from memory loss, confusion and dementia.
In a Wall Street Journal interview last week, former US Air Force colonel Aldrin, 88, said: “Nobody is going to come close to thinking I should be under a guardianship.”
He claims that a son, daughter and former manager Christina Korp also undermined his “personal romantic relationships” by forbidding him from getting married.
At issue is the management of his private company, Buzz Aldrin Enterprises, and his non-profit organisation, the ShareSpace Foundation.
In a legal filing earlier this month, his children Andrew and Janice claimed their father had begun associating with new friends who were trying to alienate him from his family.
They also said he has been spending money at “an alarming rate”.
Mr Aldrin’s lawsuit claims that his son and Ms Korp had improperly taken control of his finances “for their own self-dealing and enrichment”.
The legal action also claims the pair had been slandering him for years by Apollo 11 hero’s son Andrew The astronaut’s daughter Janice claiming he has Alzheimer’s disease. It accuses his daughter of fraud. A court-appointed mental health expert plans to evaluate him later this week.
In a statement, the children say they were saddened by the “unjustifiable” lawsuit. They added: “We love and respect our father very much.”
Three-times married Mr Aldrin, who also had another son James all by his first wife Joan, has remained in the limelight, delivering cameo spots in hit US TV shows such as The Simpsons. In 2002 he hit a man who demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landing was not staged.
He is a strong advocate for the colonisation of Mars and last week was at the White House when US President Donald Trump announced the formation of a military Space Force.