Swiss mogul dead during divorce
MAURICE Alain Amon — the Swiss tycoon in a bitter divorce battle with his socialite ex-wife, Tracey Hejailan-Amon — died in St-Tropez last week. He was reportedly expected at a Red Cross Gala in Monaco, where he lived, on Friday. But he died at 68 in his sleep of a heart attack on holiday in a StTropez villa before the event, his Monaco lawyer told a Swiss news outlet. Amon and Tracey’s split was so bitter, she once allegedly took a blowtorch to his safe, ruining a priceless art collection, he claimed in court. Last year, she was awarded an initial $122,858 a month in spousal support by a Monaco court in their divorce proceeding, plus a lump-sum payment of $1,262,121. But the legal battle raged on as she sought more dough to cover her lavish lifestyle. She’d wanted their case moved to New York, where the couple had a $22 million Fifth Avenue apartment, but that bid was dismissed. She reportedly claimed she had expenses of nearly $500,000 per month, including year-round private plane and yacht travel, plus additional homes in Switzerland, London, Paris and Hong Kong. Amon’s side claimed he’d already given her tens of millions in gifts over their eightyear marriage, including London properties, a Swiss chalet, a boat, a Ferrari and $10 million in jewelry. Amon was an heir to a Swiss currency-printing fortune. His New York lawyer, Peter Bronstein, told us Amon’s death was a “great shock to us all,” and the family is “devastated.” It’s unclear so far where his death leaves the divorce case under Monaco law.