Billionaire cries poor in divorce

BILLIONAIRE Harry Macklowe is broke and “trying to get his business back on its feet” — despite the construction of a “wildly successful” Park Ave. skyscraper, his attorney said Wednesday at the start of the developer’s divorce trial.

Linda Macklowe, 79, is seeking a split from her 80-year-old hubby (both below) amid bickering over the value of the assets and liabilities tied to their real estate empire and world-class art collection, worth a whopping $1.3 billion.

Her attorney, John Teitler, said in opening remarks that Macklowe had listed his net worth as “negative $400 million.”

Teitler scoffed at that valuation, accusing Macklowe of using accounting tricks to minimize his worth. He also alleged Macklowe hadn’t paid taxes since 1983 by exploiting a loophole available to elite developers.

“This is a case study in divorce accounting 101,” Teitler said.

Linda Macklowe wants to keep the art collection she says she built, mostly using her husband’s money. She also wants to keep a $100 million apartment in the Plaza Hotel.

Macklowe’s attorney, Peter Bronstein, dismissed many of Teitler’s remarks as “divorced from reality.” He portrayed his client — who recently built the tallest residential building in the Western hemisphere — as a developer fallen on hard times.

“Mr. Macklowe is trying to get his business back on its feet. He’s had to borrow money, get pieces of deals,” said Bronstein, while still maintaining building at 432 Park Ave. is “wildly successful.”

Macklowe previously boasted to reporters that he had offered $1 billion to his estranged wife, but Teitler said that was not true. “He’s never offered to give her anything, other than his liabilities,” he said.

Macklowe, Teitler said, hadn’t paid taxes since 1983 through a “loss carry forward” provision — the same mechanism President Trump used on his 1995 tax return.

Linda Macklowe took the stand as the opening witness in the case, testifying her expertise as an art collector was vital to the luxury building brand her husband began establishing in the 1970s.

“The art was a very big component of Harry’s business. He liked to be known for design,” she said.