Wife of ads giant Sorrell reveals she wants to divorce him
THE wife of one of Britain’s best-known – and wealthiest – advertising tycoons is seeking a divorce, she revealed last night.
Sir Martin Sorrell, who is worth an estimated £368million, married Cristiana Falcone in 2008. The couple had a daughter eight years later.
Lady Sorrell, who is almost three decades Sir Martin’s junior, could now become one of Britain’s richest women after splitting from the 75-year-old.
It comes two years after Sir Martin quit advertising giant WPP amid allegations of misconduct. It was claimed the firm had been investigating whether Sir Martin had spent £300 of company money on a prostitute.
Two colleagues are said to have witnessed their boss going into a flat in Mayfair’s red light district. Sir Martin strenuously denied the claims.
In a statement released late last night, Lady Sorrell said: ‘My husband and I have separated and I am seeking a divorce to end our marriage.’
The Italian, who is on the board of media conglomerate Viacom and previously worked at the World Economic Forum, added: ‘From here on, my priority will be the interests of my daughter, and I request that the media respect my and my family’s privacy.’
Sir Martin also has three sons from his first marriage to American-born Sandra Finestone. The couple split in 2003 after 33 years.
Miss Finestone blamed Sir Martin’s obsession with work, claiming she felt ‘ marginalised’ and ‘dehumanised’.
She received a settlement worth £ 30million – then the biggest in British legal history. Court documents revealed that the deal included a £3.25million Georgian townhouse and two Harrods underground car parking spaces worth £200,000,
Sir Martin transformed WPP from a tiny manufacturer of shopping baskets into one of the world’s most powerful marketing agencies, worth more than £11billion. After quitting, he kept his entitlement to shares worth tens of millions of pounds – and his contract also allowed him to launch a rival immediately.
He revealed just six weeks after leaving WPP that he was setting up S4 Capital, later taking the job title of ‘senior monk’ at MediaMonks after outbidding WPP for control of the digital production firm. S4 itself was valued at £949million last night.
Sir Martin could not be reached for comment.