Tycoon who moved in a Playboy model loses his divorce appeal after ‘ being left with £ 26,000’
A DIVORCING entrepreneur who complained that a judge left him with no income has been told he deserved no more because of his “vindictive” behaviour toward his ex- wife.
Richard Rothschild, 45, moved a Playboy model into his flat after splitting from Charmaine de Souza, 46.
But he was left with just £ 26,000 after she was awarded £ 1.73 million – 98.5 per cent of their assets.
The pair, who ran a west London telecomms business, racked up over £ 1million in lawyers’ bills during their divorce, which a judge described as “the most destructive litigation”.
Mr Justice Cohen – who ordered the unequal split of their wealth last year – said Mr Rothschild had “brought it on himself” because his behaviour had caused “a huge and unnecessary haemorrhage of money” in legal fees.
Mr Rothschild’s fight to overturn the order has now been rejected after the Court of Appeal ruled it was “just and fair”.
The court heard that the couple, who met as students and married in 2005, had enjoyed a “very good” lifestyle with their two children.
Mr Rothschild drove a Lamborghini, while the pair also owned a Miami Beach apartment.
They split in 2016 and first clashed in court in 2018 after Mr Rothschild moved his then girlfriend, model
Sherra Michelle, into the couple’s former apartment, prompting a bid by Ms de Souza to get him jailed for contempt of court.
Dividing their wealth last December, Mr Justice Cohen awarded Mr Rothschild the Miami apartment which had been valued at £ 2.38million but was subject to a mortgage.
After repaying debts, the husband should have been left with £ 634,000 worth of assets, but he says other liabilities meant his share is only worth £ 26,000 to him. Challenging the “unfair” divorce ruling at the Court of
Appeal, his lawyers said he had been left “with in effect no capital at all, and no income”.
But Lord Justice Moylan yesterday upheld the order.
He said Ms de Souza had set out numerous ways in which her ex- husband’s conduct had “impacted adversely on the financial circumstances of the family”, diminishing what was left to divide up.
It included “deliberate and wanton” overspending, “destructive behaviour” and his “sustained refusal to participate appropriately” in the court case by bringing hopeless applications and failing to comply with orders, “needlessly increasing costs by a vast amount”.
He noted that he “has no current earned income”, adding that he “has taken no steps to achieve one”, although as a natural entrepreneur he is likely to prosper in future.
Mr Rothschild was formerly known as Richard Pierzchalo- Piasecki.
He changed his name by deed poll in 2016 and is not part of the famous Rothschild family, who made a fortune in banking.