Perelman scion grilled over greed in inheritance battle
Revlon billionaire Ron Perelman’s daughter, Samantha, was set to inherit at least $20 million from her mother’s family — including a 30.5-carat ring, Manhattan co-op and New Jersey manse.
She’s also in line to net a fortune from late mom Claudia Cohen’s $78 million estate — not to mention her father’s multibillion-dollar empire.
But even that’s not good enough to satisfy the 23-year-old, her uncle’s lawyer charged in a Hackensack, NJ, court Tuesday.
“You didn’t say ‘I want to inherit $100 million to $50 million’?” demanded lawyer Benjamin Clarke, who is defending James Cohen against Samantha Perelman’s claim that he coerced his ailing dad into cutting her out of his $600 million Hudson News fortune.
He was referring to a 2007 meeting between Perelman and her grandfather Robert Cohen, James and Claudia’s dad.
“I wouldn’t characterize it as such,’’ Samantha replied to the cross-examination on her second day of testimony.
“You didn’t say ‘[I] want a half or a third of your business’ to your grandfather?’’ Clarke asked.
Perelman denied it again.
Painting Perelman as a greedy, ungrateful rich kid, Clarke said Samantha coldly filed suit against her uncle 15 days after his dad, Robert Cohen, died at age 86.
Samantha tried to get her grandfather declared legally incompetent after he changed his will, but her bid failed.
At one point, Clarke suggested that the Ivy League grad student was pushing for something that wasn’t hers — and that she hardly needed any more money, anyway.
“You realize that your grandfather had the right to treat you as an individual, not as a replacement for your mother?’’ he said.
“He had consistently treated me and my mother the same,” Perelman answered.
“On the subject of your grandfather’s intentions towards you, do you contend that your grandfather did not know that you are the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the world?’’ Clarke asked.
She replied, “I don’t know how that has anything to do with it.”
The defense also tried to hammer home the notion that Ron Perelman was pulling all the strings in the lawsuit.
Clarke noted that Claudia Cohen’s 2004 will would have given her daughter $5 million at age 25 and then half of her remaining $73 million fortune at age 40.
But in 2007, as she lay dying of cancer at Sloan-Kettering, Cohen changed her will to make her ex, Ron, executor with sole control over the purse strings.
Clarke hinted that Samantha would do his bidding as long as he controlled the money.
Samantha grew testy, saying her dad “was [her mom’s] best friend.”
“You can’t use Ronald Perelman as a pawn,’’ she seethed. “It was for Claudia Cohen. He was working as an executor [when her will was changed in 2007]. He’s not this bad guy that we’re all trying to beat up.’’
She’s also in line to net a fortune from late mom Claudia Cohen’s $78 million estate — not to mention her father’s multibillion-dollar empire.
But even that’s not good enough to satisfy the 23-year-old, her uncle’s lawyer charged in a Hackensack, NJ, court Tuesday.
“You didn’t say ‘I want to inherit $100 million to $50 million’?” demanded lawyer Benjamin Clarke, who is defending James Cohen against Samantha Perelman’s claim that he coerced his ailing dad into cutting her out of his $600 million Hudson News fortune.
He was referring to a 2007 meeting between Perelman and her grandfather Robert Cohen, James and Claudia’s dad.
“I wouldn’t characterize it as such,’’ Samantha replied to the cross-examination on her second day of testimony.
“You didn’t say ‘[I] want a half or a third of your business’ to your grandfather?’’ Clarke asked.
Perelman denied it again.
Painting Perelman as a greedy, ungrateful rich kid, Clarke said Samantha coldly filed suit against her uncle 15 days after his dad, Robert Cohen, died at age 86.
Samantha tried to get her grandfather declared legally incompetent after he changed his will, but her bid failed.
At one point, Clarke suggested that the Ivy League grad student was pushing for something that wasn’t hers — and that she hardly needed any more money, anyway.
“You realize that your grandfather had the right to treat you as an individual, not as a replacement for your mother?’’ he said.
“He had consistently treated me and my mother the same,” Perelman answered.
“On the subject of your grandfather’s intentions towards you, do you contend that your grandfather did not know that you are the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the world?’’ Clarke asked.
She replied, “I don’t know how that has anything to do with it.”
The defense also tried to hammer home the notion that Ron Perelman was pulling all the strings in the lawsuit.
Clarke noted that Claudia Cohen’s 2004 will would have given her daughter $5 million at age 25 and then half of her remaining $73 million fortune at age 40.
But in 2007, as she lay dying of cancer at Sloan-Kettering, Cohen changed her will to make her ex, Ron, executor with sole control over the purse strings.
Clarke hinted that Samantha would do his bidding as long as he controlled the money.
Samantha grew testy, saying her dad “was [her mom’s] best friend.”
“You can’t use Ronald Perelman as a pawn,’’ she seethed. “It was for Claudia Cohen. He was working as an executor [when her will was changed in 2007]. He’s not this bad guy that we’re all trying to beat up.’’
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