He's a divorce court jester
Macklowe a side ‘splitter’ on the stand
Billionaire developer-cum-jokester Harry Macklowe took his comedy routine to the witness stand during his Manhattan divorce trial, sending the courtroom into stitches with a quip about disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Macklowe, 80, was testifying about his and his now-estranged wife’s $1 billion art collection in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday.
He spoke about lending a Mark Rothko painting to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in 1998, the year the public learned about President Bill Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
“We went down to see that show and that was the first time we met Mr. and Mrs. Clinton. That was, for me, very exciting,” he said.
“Did they like the picture?” his attorney, Peter Bronstein, asked.
“I tried to get close to ask him if he really liked it, but he was . . .” Macklowe said, pausing for comedic effect, “with Harvey Weinstein.”
When Bronstein asked how Macklowe formed friendships with art dealers and galleries, he deadpanned, “There’s nothing to catch the attention of an art dealer like writing a check.”
The remark sent Judge Laura Drager into a fit of laughter.
The judge also chuckled as Macklowe’s lawyer urged him to abbreviate a description of the 88 commercial properties he has built during his real-estate career.
“As I go on, I think I’d probably be more self-laudatory,” he said, before noting how his 432 Park Avenue skyscraper is the tallest residential building in the city.
Macklowe’s wife of nearly six decades, Linda Macklowe, 79, did not appear amused. Instead, she whispered to her attorney throughout the testimony.
The Macklowe Properties founder turned serious when claiming his wife contributed little to his business success.
“When your wife testified, she said that she played an important role in the development of your career. Was that, in fact, the case?” Bronstein asked. “No,” Macklowe answered. “Your wife testified that she helped you find architects?” Bronstein asked.
“No,” he said. “I heard that. I couldn’t connect that at all.”
“She testified that she entertained,” Bronstein continued.
“I searched my mind for that one, and I didn’t have any recollection,” Macklowe responded.
“She helped with designs and ideas for your buildings, is that true?” Bronstein asked.
Macklowe allowed that “husbands and wives talk,” but he said, “All of the development sites upon which I build buildings are sites that I created and that show both my involvement and my curiosity, my ideas.”
Linda Macklowe, a trustee with the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, filed for divorce last year after learning that her husband of nearly 60 years had been keeping a French mistress in one of his Manhattan apartment buildings.
Earlier in the divorce proceeding, Macklowe entertained reporters with a string of “Take my wife — please”-style jokes and claimed he offered her half his estimated $2 billion fortune to go away.
His testimony continues Friday.
I tried to get close to ask him if he really liked it, but he was . . . with Harveyy Weinstein. Harry Macklowe, recalling meeting Bill Clinton in 1998