USNewsLink, October 1, 2000/Updated December 31, 2004 QUESTION? Recently 'the billionaire and the beauty' saga has captured the attention of Americans. Since he cut her out of his will and died shortly thereafter, the distribution of the billionaire's estate has fallen to a court of law to decide. And the male dominated American press has found this pathetic matter newsworthy, probably because it gives them a platform to crack off color jokes about this particular beauty's God given 'assets.' Without delving into the story's details, the essence of the story is: how much, in terms of dollars, was this beauty worth to this billionaire in lieu of their brief, twenty-four month, marriage? ANSWER: If you hear men discuss this case, they discuss 'performance;' 'what did she do to 'earn' the money'? If you hear women discuss this case, they talk in terms of, love; 'what did this woman mean to this man and what did he mean to her? And if you think about it, this question is discussed and analyzed in most marriages, sometimes on a daily basis. What are we worth to the people we marry? I believe I was worth a lot to my former husband in terms of what I did for him during our time together. And he will say that I spent all of our money during our marriage and that I owe him all of the money back. Men and women see these matters so differently that I herein endorse the concept of requiring couples to agree to a distribution of assets prior to getting married. States have enacted laws that guide courts in distributing marital assets in the event of divorce and death. However, these laws do not keep these cases out of court. After our divorce, my ex drug me through court after court in an effort to obtain money from me, causing one judge to write in her opinion that he appeared to be mentally ill and obsessed. Based on my life experiences, American women aren't worth much to men. If you doubt the veracity of this statement, just ask a man what his wife is worth to him. And, women will respond differently to this question. A woman will always place a higher value on her husband than he does on her. Also, a woman places a higher value on her husband than she does on herself. On this subject, married couples often agree. I am empathetic to the case of the beauty who married the billionaire. She had value to him although he chose not to leave her any money after his death. The fact that a billionaire would leave all of his money to one son and cut out the other and also cut out his wife is a commentary on our society. Simply put, men who have power wield it without regard for the harm they cause. In the end, women on the receiving end of financial insults such as these are left with a hollow feeling and wondering where 'they' went wrong. And society laughs and jokes about these age old dilemmas. Ultimately, what a woman is worth is decided when she signs a prenuptial agreement. A woman's worth is not decided by how many loads of his laundry she does, or how many meals she cooks for him, or how often she places his needs above her own. UPDATE: A federal court ruled in 2002 that Anna Nicole Smith was entitled to compensatory and punitive damages because the younger Marshall altered, destroyed and falsified documents to try to keep her from receiving money from his father's estate. On December 30, 2004, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Texas probate court's decision that the son was the oil man's sole heir should stand. The panel said the federal judge in California who ruled in Smith's favor in 2002 should never have even heard the case. Smith's attorney, Howard K. Stern, said he would ask the full appeals court to rehear the case and would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. On Tuesday, February 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments focused solely on the narrow question of whether federal courts can decide cases involving state probate proceedings. On Monday, May 2, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Anna Nicole Smith could pursue part of her late husband's oil fortune. Justices gave new legal impetus to Smith's bid to collect millions of dollars from the estate of J. Howard Marshall II. Her late husband's estate has been estimated at as much as $1.6 billion.
UPDATE: 02/08/2007
In this handout image from PETA, Anna Nicole Smith poses as Marliyn Monroe for a 2004 PETA ad campaign titled, Gentlemen Prefer Fur Free Blondes. Smith, the pneumatic blonde whose life played out as an extraordinary tabloid tale - Playboy centerfold, jeans model, bride of an octogenarian oil tycoon, reality-show subject, tragic mother - died Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007 after collapsing at a hotel. She was 39 |
