The wife of a billionaire hedge fund manager has returned to court after rejecting a $633 million payout from her ex as the pair battle it out in New Jersey's largest divorce case.
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pair → return → case
Laura Overdeck, 56, and her estranged husband, John Overdeck, 56, were back before a judge this week as she seeks an even bigger slice of the fortune he built through his investment firm, Two Sigma.
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he → estrange → firm
It comes months after she rejected a settlement worth more than $600 million, claiming John had 'schemed' to leave her with as little as possible in the divorce.
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John → come → divorce
Her lawyers previously claimed that he had 'methodically and strategically' tried for decades to secure his own wealth in case of a divorce, purposefully hidden his assets from his wife and 'planned his escape' during their marriage.
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he → claim → marriage
She is still seeking 35 percent of the value of his stake in the Manhattan-based hedge fund, which he founded with businessman David Siegel in 2001, a year before the couple married without a prenup.
But the two sides have sharply different valuations of John's stake, with his attorneys putting it at $4.5 billion and Laura's side at $6.2 billion, arguing that she is entitled to a share because it is a marital asset.
On Tuesday, the couple headed back to a Newark courtroom before family court Judge Bruce Buechler to hash out the value of Two Sigma's assets, with the firm valued at $80 billion, according to The New York Post.
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firm → seek → Post
John had asked the judge to clear the courtroom to keep the company's assets secret during detailed testimony from his financial expert, Todd Povlich, and won the bid.
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John → ask → bid
Laura Overdeck (pictured), 56, wife of billionaire hedge fund manager John Overdeck, is seeking an even bigger slice of the fortune he built through his investment firm, Two Sigma
It comes months after she rejected a settlement worth more than $600 million, claiming John had 'schemed' to leave her with as little as possible in the divorce
Laura wants 35 percent of the value of John's stake in the Two Sigma (headquarters pictured), which he founded with businessman David Siegel in 2001, a year before the couple married without a prenup
While Judge Buechler ruled against sealing the entirety of Povlich's testimony, he ultimately agreed that portions that could reveal Two Sigma's trade secrets should be heard behind closed doors, according to the outlet.
Laura's attorneys questioned the need to keep the testimony under wraps, pointing out that John's side had already publicized its valuation of the company.
Buechler said he worried Povlich would discuss 'where the values are going, what they are looking at, what they are investing in' - details he said were protected company secrets that could hurt the firm if aired out.
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that → picture → firm
During the sealed portion of the hearing, the witness was expected to detail how he arrived at his valuation of Two Sigma and explain how he valued each of the company’s 20 entities.
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he → seal → entities
Laura appeared particularly engaged during the public portions of Tuesday's proceeding, sporting red sunglasses and metallic woven leather heeled mules as she typed on her laptop and repeatedly leaned over to speak with her lawyers.
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she → appear → lawyers
Meanwhile, John appeared largely detached, spending much of his time gazing down at his cellphone as his lawyer questioned Povlich, his second-to-last witness.
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lawyer → appear → last
It marked the 10th day of the multiday hearing over the hedge fund John co-founded with Siegel, with the two men also locked in a bitter power struggle over the company.
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men → mark → company
John had previously testified for several days, but Buechler barred Laura from taking the stand after she was accused of wrongdoing in the case, according to the New York Post.
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she → testify → Post
On Tuesday, the couple returned to a Newark courtroom before family court Judge Bruce Buechler to hash out the value of Two Sigma's assets, with the firm valued at $80 billion
John's attorneys put his stake value at $4.5 billion and Laura's side at $6.2 billion, arguing that she is entitled to a share because it is a marital asset (pictured: Two Sigma offices)
John asked the judge to clear the courtroom to keep the company's assets secret during detailed testimony from his financial expert, Todd Povlich (pictured), and won the bid
The judge said she allegedly hacked into John’s computer, broke into his post office box and deleted evidence from her phone.
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she → return → phone
The courtroom battle is expected to open back up to the public Wednesday morning, with the Overdecks due back in court later this month for additional testimony from another financial expert.
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Overdecks → expect → expert
Laura filed for divorce in 2022, ending the couple’s 20-year marriage, during which the pair, both math whizzes, had three children together.
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pair → file → children
Together, they raised their family in a mansion in tony Short Hills with the help of a full-time nanny and a housekeeper who worked 15 hours a week, according to the outlet.
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who → raise → outlet
Their bitter split went to trial in August before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Buechler, with Bloomberg in the courtroom for what is believed to be the largest contested divorce in the state's history.
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what → go → history
John’s lawyers said their client, worth an estimated $8 billion, was ready to give his ex-wife $723 million in tax-free cash, but Laura argued the figure should be far higher if she wins her fight for a stake in his fund.
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she → say → fund
His lawyers argued that Two Sigma is not a marital asset, pointing out that it was founded two years before the couple tied the knot in 2002.
'
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couple → argue → 2002
The company had done substantial work and managed hundreds of millions of dollars before the parties’ marriage,' John's lawyer Jonathan Wolfe said.
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Wolfe → do → marriage
Laura was barred from testifying after the judge accused her of allegedly hacking into John’s computer, breaking into his post office box and deleting evidence from her phone
Laura filed for divorce in 2022.
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Laura → bar → 2022
They had raised their family in a mansion in tony Short Hills (pictured) with the help of a full-time nanny and a housekeeper who worked 15 hours a week
In August, John’s lawyers said their client, worth an estimated $8 billion, was ready to give his ex-wife $723 million in tax-free cash, but Laura argued the figure should be far higher
But
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figure → raise → cash
Laura’s attorney, Therese Lyons, fired back that the company was merely a 'concept' at the time and did not begin trading until after the couple married.
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couple → fire → time
The firm ballooned in value during their marriage, with John telling the court he had grown it from under $1 billion to $80 billion over the past 25 years.
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he → balloon → years
Lyons doubled down on the accusations, claiming John had been 'working tirelessly' to conceal assets from his wife and 'scheming' to strip billions from their marital estate.
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John → double → estate
'John Overdeck is not a man who woke up one morning and decided to divorce his wife,' Laura's attorney said.
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attorney → wake → wife
Wolfe contended that John earned $685 million during their marriage, a massive sum that was all held in a joint bank account.
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that → contend → account
But the lawyer stressed that his client had already amassed billions before they married.
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they → stress → billions
He said that John's offer to his estranged wife was 'more than enough to meet the needs of the parties' marital lifestyle.'
Laura is also fighting for hundreds of millions of dollars in Treasury bonds held in a trust, along with equal control of the couple’s family foundation.
If she does not get control, her lawyers want John to hand over 50 percent of its value to a charity of her choosing.
John's lawyers argued that Two Sigma is not a marital asset, pointing out that it was founded two years before the couple tied the knot in 2002 (pictured: David Siegel far legt, Overdeck far right)
John had recently splashed out $72 million on a waterfront Palm Beach, Florida palace (pictured)
John currently lives in the Florida mansion with his current girlfriend, Kimia Shadrokh, 42, a Peakstone managing director and former Moinian Group commercial real estate executive
The foundation had $920 million in assets in 2024, according to a tax filing seen by Bloomberg.
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foundation → say → Bloomberg
Before co-founding Two Sigma, John worked at investment firm DE Shaw & Co, where he also helped Jeff Bezos launch Amazon.
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Bezos → - → Amazon
He recently splashed out $72 million on a waterfront Palm Beach palace, where he lives with his current girlfriend, Kimia Shadrokh, 42, a Peakstone managing director and former Moinian Group commercial real estate executive.
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he → splash → girlfriend
Laura, meanwhile, studied astrophysics at Princeton University before earning an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.
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Laura → study → Business
She went on to found Bedtime Math, a nonprofit she still oversees that helps parents teach math to their children.
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parents → go → children
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