Oscar de la Renta left his only son a ‘threadbare portion’ of his estate

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When Oscar de la Renta passed away last year, I did idly wonder about his will. De la Renta was a wealthy man, of course, with a successful clothing line and I guess I just figured that his beloved wife Annette would probably inherit the majority of his estate. I didn’t know that Oscar de la Renta had any kids, but he did. He was stepfather to Annette’s three children from a previous relationship, and Oscar adopted a son, Moises, from the Dominican Republic before Oscar got with Annette. And as it turns out, Oscar de la Renta did leave the bulk of his estate to Annette, and he only left a pittance to Moises. Rough.

The son of late fashion designer Oscar de la Renta is paying dearly for having fallen out with his father. Moises de la Renta, adopted by Oscar from an orphanage in their native Dominican Republic, was left a relatively threadbare portion of his dad’s $26 million estate — and was warned that if he ever tried to contest the will, he would be cut out completely, court documents show. Moises, 30, had angered his dad by launching his own women’s fashion line in 2005. His father, who outfitted such luminaries as Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Amal Clooney, apparently never forgave him.

Oscar, who died in October at age 82, left most of his estate to his wife of 25 years, Annette, in his six-page will, signed several weeks before his death. Her haul includes all of Oscar’s belongings, plus his real-estate holdings, including a $13 million Park Avenue apartment, $2.8 million Connecticut home and a Dominican estate. The rest of his funds was put in a trust to be split between Annette, her three children and Moises, who was his dad’s only child.

The will puts Annette, Oscar’s second wife, in control of the funds, which include his $3.3 million Citibank account and a $1.2 million tax refund. Rather than Moises, Oscar’s stepdaughter Eliza Bolen was named as an alternate executor of the will. Bolen, daughter of Annette, is a vice president of the fashion house.

The will — filed in Litchfield County Probate Court in Connecticut, where the designer lived with Annette — gives a glimpse into the couple’s lifestyle. For example, Annette billed the estate $80,000 on May 18 for expenses including a $2,533.82 trip to a Citarella gourmet market and $13,933 for landscaping. In 2005, The Post reported Moises was building his own fashion “empire” “to bring the de la Renta aura to a younger crowd.”

Oscar later publicly lashed out at his son. “Moises did a little line, five or six pieces. But that doesn’t make a fashion designer,” he told New York magazine. Oscar said he adopted Moises, then just 24 hours old, after his first wife, Francoise, died of cancer.

“I never thought I would get married again. I thought my son and I would have each other,’’ he said.

But in 1989, Oscar wed Annette, daughter of mining magnate/philanthropist Charles Engelhard. Moises’ fashion line, MDLR, never took off. Still, he’s not exactly poor, buying a Soho pad for $2.4 million in 2010. Annette’s lawyers declined to comment. Moises did not return messages.

[From Page Six]

I think it was always pretty clear that Annette would inherit the bulk of the estate and that Oscar trusted her judgment implicitly. And yes, it’s terrible to hold that kind of grudge against your son for so many years, to the point where you’re taking it to your grave. And was Moises really so wrong to try to build his own line? Ugh. Still, Oscar had the right to distribute his wealth however he wanted, and I guess Moises should be thankful to get whatever pittance from the trust controlled by Annette.

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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78 Responses to “Oscar de la Renta left his only son a ‘threadbare portion’ of his estate”

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  1. loud noises says:

    ugh too much sad. if there’s no real other reasons, says a lot about ODLR’s character.

    • Denisemich says:

      Moises is 30 years old. Didn’t he have a trust fund? How do we know that Oscar didn’t distribute the money to him prior to his death? It would make sense especially for tax reasons.

    • Sherry says:

      I loved ODLR. I love his clothing line and his perfume. IMO – It was his money to do with as he wished. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors and we do not know what kind of relationship the two had or what kind of son Moises was to Oscar or what kind of father Oscar was to Moises.

      I would be shocked if there wasn’t some sort of trust fund in place for his son.

    • Pace U. says:

      Reminds me of Vidal Sasson, except he left his son nothing, claiming a falling out. I think it’s a jerk move in the end. Moises go on pursue your dreams, be your own person, stay strong.
      Money does not make a person.

      Live Your Own Dream Moises.

    • AL says:

      Sad but not so rare. Many rich people adopt “poor countries” babies (preferably asian or black) to show that they’re generous and charitable but they never considered them as their real children.

  2. India says:

    Annette is an extremely wealthy woman in her own right. You would hope that she would look advantageously on his only child.

  3. Mrs. Wellen Melon says:

    Good on Moises for being his own person. #priceless

  4. mimif says:

    1.2 million dollar tax refund? 😱

  5. MrsBPitt says:

    I have to believe that there was more to the rift between father and son, than Moises just trying to launch his own fashion line. It doesn’t make sense…what father wouldn’t be proud that his child wanted to follow in his footsteps? Of course, I don’t live in, or know anything about these rich, elitists…maybe they don’t want the spotlight stolen from them, even if it is their own kid (although, it dosen’t sound like Moises had much success)…Families….no one knows what goes on behind closed doors, I guess! Why do I have the feeling that Moises will be writing a tell-all Daddy Dearest type book in 3…2…1

    • Carmen says:

      Maybe he expected Moisés to work with him, not compete with him.

    • Tifygodess24 says:

      Families rift for much, much less. I have seen all types- wealthy and poor fight and never speak again over the dumbest things. Sadly there are many times where anger and stubborness are taken to the grave and there was no need. It makes me so sad when people can’t resolve their differences especially before someone passes away.

      • MonicaQ says:

        There’s an aunt in my family that went to her grave not speaking to her sister because of a cake. A cake. From 1985.

      • Ankhel says:

        My uncle hated his brother for more than 40 years, because his brother borrowed 300 dollars from him in 1983 and never repaid him. They lived a couple of miles apart and never visited, not even when the brother wound up in a wheelchair and was dying. My uncle did not go to the funeral, or send anything. Afterwards, uncle joyfully refused to have him buried next to his son at the family grave site- which had been his dying wish. No amount of pleading from the rest of us, their sister or the dead man’s daughter did any good. He is now enraged at the family in general because his sister and niece bought another burial spot close by the old one. It sabotaged his plan of placing his brother in an unmarked mass grave. I’m sort of happy, because this has shifted some of his attention away from demanding a large portion of my inheritance, based on “what my father would have wanted”. Family, who needs enemies?

      • a cut above says:

        @ MonicaQ: That’s sounds like a Seinfeld episode, haha. It boggles my mind that people put so much petty BS over the love of family and friends.

      • Tracy says:

        It’s never about “the cake” or “the $300”. It’s about a bigger issue that these events represent….feeling chronically taken advantage of, feeling dismissed, whatever. And it’s all a shame.

      • chaine says:

        yep. it can be pretty petty. someone i know refused to speak to their mom to the mom’s dying day (at least a decade) because the mom obstinately refused to give them some valueless desk chair that they wanted as a memento of their deceased father. kid didn’t go to mom’s funeral, and the rest of the family left the kid out of mom’s obituary listing of her children, apparently at her wishes.

      • MonicaQ says:

        @Tracy yup. There’s always a tipping point. In this case it was Grumpy aunt always feeling jilted by the Baker aunt and when Grump got a store bought cake instead of a lovingly home made cake for her birthday it was over. Add that to the fact that Baker Aunt had just made my mom a cake for my birth two weeks before and whooo nelly. I used to think it was funny as a kid but now that one is gone, it’s more sad than anything. Baker aunt was even requested in Gumpy’s will to not show up to the funeral.

    • Div says:

      I kind of remember reading a strange, sort of bitchy fashion article once that seemed to be throwing subtle shade at his step-kids who all play a big part in his company. I wonder if it was less Oscar/Moises and fashion….and more like maybe Moises didn’t get along with his step-mother and step-siblings and it all boiled over. In the end, another article says he received the same amount as the step-siblings so at least he wasn’t left with nothing but either way Oscar doesn’t come off very well.

    • Jessica says:

      Maybe he was throwing his fathers name around while trying to get his line launched or pretending his father was involved?

      I once had the son of a client try to pitch me his own business plan while misrepresenting it as something that his father was deeply involved with. It was a disaster of a business plan, if anyone had actually believed his father was capable of that kind of stupidity it would have severely damaged his reputation and business.

      • Loopy says:

        @ Monica Q…ok you didn’t tell the full story, but i’m sure it wasn’t just about cake,that could have been the final straw,but there is always a build up before you erase someone out of your life.

      • LAK says:

        I’m with Loopy and Tracy. It’s rarely about the cake.

    • Gea says:

      I have heard years a go how Oscar was trying to help Moises to build a fashion line. The whole adventure was financed by Oscar, his wife . It was too much of going back and for between father and son. Moises had grand unrealistic visions that really made no sense at the time, he was lacking knowledge, creativity. He expected to become big name and thought that having Oscar as his father would be an easy road to success. When his collection fail he blamed his father and gossip is still alive, I guess.

    • Pace U. says:

      Vidal Sasson did the same thing to his son, but completely disinherited him, left him NOTHING, claiming they had a falling out. I just find it a jerky move.
      Still money does not make a person. I wish Moises the best.

  6. Sad, but there’s a backstory..always is..one thing is for sure, Oscar would have Never gone out looking so tacky as to wear a suit vest over a cheap denim shirt, over an old t shirt.

  7. jugstorecowboy says:

    If this is true it makes me ill. Parents who reserve love and acceptance for the children who make the “right” choices are despicable.

    • Debbie says:

      Amen. Says so much about him. Hate to think love was conditional. Not that being left money equals love but to be cut out because he didn’t do what he wanted him to- disgusting.

    • a cut above says:

      These parents are the literal worst. Parents should love the child that they have, full stop. I’ve seen so many examples of parents trying to control their kids, or live through them, or withholding love (?!?!?!) pending the “right” life choices. It’s incredibly gross.

      • B says:

        This line speaks volumes: “Moises did a little line, five or six pieces. But that doesn’t make a fashion designer,”. What kind of parent publicly trashes their child in a such a way?

        These step children had their own father, who took care of them in his own will, as you would expect. And in regards to the step-mother, her money is in a sense also her kids money…they will all be very well taken care of while Moises simply has his share of a share. What a travesty.

    • Chris says:

      Yes, this was my thought also. My daughter is only 7, but I cannot imagine her doing anything that I would not forgive, or let cause a permanent rift between us. What is paternal love, if it’s not unconditional? Of course, in occasions such drug abuse or destructive behavior, sometimes tough love is required. But anything less seems so petty and emotionally immature.

  8. Louise177 says:

    I don’t know why people have a problem when wealthy people don’t leave their money to the children. Simply being their child doesn’t entitle them to anything.

    • ava7 says:

      Not to mention that he received a first class education from birth to adulthood. That alone usually equips one to go out into the world and support themselves.

    • JMMM says:

      +1

    • Debbie says:

      I think it’s because in this case he cut him out because he was trying to be independent. He went out to do his own thing and Oscar got mad and cut him out of his life even in death. So in this case it’s like a punishment. Plus it’s not like he pulled a gates and left his money to charity he gave it to his wife to give to her children.

      This of course is assuming the story is true.

    • Pace U. says:

      I find it a crappy move. He left out Moises.
      Reminds me of Vidal Sasson, he left out his son.

      I sometimes wonder how the wives of these men can watch these escapades concerning a singleing out of a child for emotional, psychological punishment, IMO That’s what it is and it’s plain cruel!

  9. Izzy says:

    What a hatefilled, bitter old man, and what a greedy woman. She should do right by Moises. Karma, lady, she’ll always come back to get you, and it’s my sincere hope it does so for Annette as well.

    Also, the will was signed a few weeks before he died and he had such a large estate? Sounds more like he was convinced to changed it at the last minute.

    • Hadleyb says:

      But it’s ok to leave it to your step kids ? It just shows hate and a last eff you that can’t be revoked. He’s dead as a child you have to live with that forever , that last bitterness and thought that your parent hated you.

      He might of said it with words at one point but people say with money or their wills too to prove one last point and no matter who you are or what it is or how much or less money it is it hurts. And that is exactly what Oscar wanted. Which is so sad.

      You can’t mend that when you are dead.

    • Pace U. says:

      Yup something about the wife bothers me, but still in the end it was Oscar’s doing,. What he did is an act of punishment and withholding of love, It’s so sad . I’m not saying it’s all about the money, what I’m saying is it’s about the Act the symbolism of what he did to Moises.

      Karma will bite the wife in the ………, if she was involved in this decision.

  10. Loopy says:

    I thought that his estate would be worth a truck load more.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Me, too. I was shocked at $26 million. Not that I wouldn’t love that much, but I thought he would be worth much more than that.

      • Hautie says:

        It always goes back to spending versus income… if you are living the high life.

        It is pricey to be fabulous. And Oscar did live a very comfortable fabulous life $tyle.

        I don’t really recall Oscar… to use a ugly quote… “selling out” on a large scale.

        Which is how you get ridiculous wealth, as a fashion designer. And to be honest. It is required, if you want more than a $25 million estate in the end.

        His big years really were in the 1980’s. When he was the guy who dressed… every famous female in front of a camera. Those Dynasty years were good to him. Nancy Regan and her group of ladies were good to him. But that does not translate into great wealth. Just high profile, of your name.

        But I bet Oscar becomes more wealthy in death. When his brand is sold/or used on a very aggressive clothing group. Who needs a quality name on their goods.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        Yes, Hautie, now that you mention it, I have always seen pictures of their fabulous homes in various places, and their lifestyle was very opulent. So maybe he spent more than he should, or just didn’t make as much as I thought he did, and just had a high profile in the fashion world.

      • Pace U. says:

        Me too, but I think he sold off a lot of his company years ago.

    • Mila says:

      me too. 26 Million is a lot of money, no doubt but i thought someone as well known as him would have more, especially because he was around for quite some time.

    • LAK says:

      I wasn’t shocked by the size of his estate. I read somewhere, though don’t know the veracity of it, that he married Annette because of her wealth and that she was the one bankrolling him.

  11. Mrs. Ari Gold says:

    Oscar is clearly a douche if he used the press to air a family grievance. Even if Oscar was in the right, you don’t bash your family in the press when you’re famous. That’s disgusting. It’s a red flag about Oscar – something is not right about him as a father. I feel badly for his kid.

  12. Tig says:

    I concur with those posters who point out we don’t know all the ins and outs. If his son attempted to launch a competing line while trying to lend it an air of credibility by banking on his dad’s name, I can see where Dad would not have viewed that favorably. Hopefully, his step-mother will be generous. Isn’t she the same woman who did so much to protect Brooke Astor?

  13. Kiki says:

    I don’t know anything about the ‘rift’ or this man, other than what is in the article, so I maybe missing something, but –

    It sounds like he left the bulk of his estate to his wife of 25 years, and $4.5m to be divided among his children, including 1 son and 3 step-daughters.

    they’d been a blended family for 25 years, and he treated all 4 children the same. If the wife plans to treat the children, including her step-son, equitably in her will, this seems like pretty normal estate planning.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Yes, if the wife is still alive, the bulk of the money should go to her. In many states, half of it HAS to go to her. I don’t see the problem.

    • msmercury says:

      That is the way I read it. The wife gets most of the money (which is usually the case) and the rest is divided between the 4 kids. Since they were a family for 25 years I have no problem with the step-kids getting some money too. I do not see the outrage over the will.

    • GPSB says:

      +1, came here to say exactly this.

      • Ankhel says:

        It is normal to leave a lot of money for your spouse, in part because that usually means your kids inherit in the end. But here it’s doubtful if the widow will think of Moises – she has kids of her own. It gets worse because Moises was adopted, he has no other family to benefit him in any way. He must feel left behind, even if he’s good economically.

    • renee28 says:

      Agreed. It seems like people are making a big deal out of nothing. His wife isn’t someone he recently married. They’ve been a family for quite some time and it seems like he’s trying to treat all the children equally.

    • jugstorecowboy says:

      I’ve got no qualms with the distribution of the estate, this is what gets me: “Oscar later publicly lashed out at his son. “Moises did a little line, five or six pieces. But that doesn’t make a fashion designer,” he told New York magazine.” That is not a supportive or forgiving parent.

      If my math is correct, Moises would have been about 20 then? I was a complete and total tool at 20. My parents have never publicly (or even privately) reminded me of it. It doesn’t sound like Moises was so lucky.

  14. Lucy2 says:

    I’m surprised his estate is not worth much more.
    When a spouse is still living, it makes sense for them to inherit the majority of the estate. Maybe once she passes away the estate will be split between the four children? Or maybe there really was a falling out and he’ll get next to nothing, total.

    • Kdlaf says:

      Right? Thats the only thing Im taking away from this. I thought he would have at least 75 million or something! I guess hes not as big as I thought he was – certainly not a Gucci or Prada – not that thats a bad thing. Oscars dresses were consistently breathtaking. And from what other posters are saying it looks like he distributed an equal amount between his step children and adopted son. Maybe his son was irresponsible with money? We never know the full story.

  15. PHD Gossip says:

    I knew there would be a problem with Annette and the inheritance. She is not going to let an estate slip through her hands.

  16. kaligula says:

    Keep going Moises, you don’t need it!!! You will be successful anyway!!!!!!!!!

  17. Des says:

    I didn’t know father and son had had a falling out but I do remember that Michelle Obama refused to wear Papa DLR because she thought he was too boring or old or something, but she did wear Son DLR at which Papa DLR made those famous noises about MO not knowing fashion or whatever. In my naivety, I thought Papa DLR must have been proud that at least his son got the recognition he deserved. Apparently not.

    • Peggy says:

      Oscar was a bitter old biddy, how dare Michelle not wear his design, every first lady from Martha Washington wore his dresses for the inauguration.
      When she went to Buckingham Place without wearing his frock, he was just nasty.
      Glad that she did not ever wear any of his designs.

  18. Dena says:

    Well, speaking from personal experience sometimes there’s a very good reason to cut out one child – when my mother died she divided her estate into thirds. A third for me, a third for my sister, and she skipped over my brother and left a third to his son with my Uncle as executor. So my brother could rightfully claim my mother cut him out.

    But she did that because my brother is an addict who’d run through a lot of her money prior to her death (legal bills, stole from her, etc). By putting the money in trust for his son she was trying to ensure that at least my nephew would get a college education (it’s enough to fund all four years), and a better chance at life than he would otherwise with my brother as a father. My brother’s cleaned up his act and isn’t using anymore (as far as I know) but if he’d had access to that money it wouldn’t have helped with his sobriety.

    I’m not saying that any of that was involved here, just saying that sometimes there’s a lot more beneath the surface of “He cut off his son without a penny!”

  19. Liberty says:

    If this is true, this is vile. Ugh.

  20. mogul says:

    I looked it up the stepchilderen are already rich thanks to their father, who when he divorced their mother put money in a divorce trust:

    In 1960, she married private investor Samuel Pryor Reed (born 1934 – died 2005) in a Roman Catholic ceremony in Bernardsville, New Jersey.[4][5] He was a vice president of Engelhard Industries (1960-76), the minerals conglomerate; and he later owned American Heritage magazine. S.P. Reed created divorce accounts for each of his children of US$50,000,000 in shares and buildings around the world, as they were all over 21, so his divorced wife got nothing more than the marriage pact 15 percent of his fortune.

    And stepdaughters’ husband is the acting ceo of the brand ODLR, Annette’s kids were adults when she got married to oscar. But Moïses was just five years old, so he doesn’t remember a live without Annette. Just sayin

  21. gg says:

    someone I know worked in CapCana (Punta Cana, DR), where De la Renta was a major shareholder and had a huge mansion. He said he was always incredibly nice and polite to staff, really humble and very well-liked. Moises, on the other hand, was just vile; an entitled asshole who thought he was better than everyone and treated staff like crap. This person had the chance to serve a few major celebrities, and the only one to ever give them attitude was, ironically, the dude who was only known for being “the son of”. Just putting this out there for perspective.

    • Mary-Alice says:

      Agree. The “poor” Moises is well known and not for his polite attitude. He also used his father’s name when trying to sell the “collection” which was a disaster and he was dishonest. So, yeah, Oscar was honest and right. It amuses me how everyone takes the side of the “left out” without the slightest attempt to at least google some older news. Besides, it was Oscar’s money. Enough of the entitlement to get other people’s money.

  22. Tessa says:

    I like the American way of thinking about rich parents: it’s THEIR money, not yours. Unless the money were inherited from previous generations, a self-made man or woman is right to do whatever they want with their wealth. Children might benefit but shouldn’t expect to!

    • Kori says:

      My mother in law (who is comfortable but not wealthy) is always making passive aggressive digs about her spending ‘our inheritance’ when she travels, etc…My hubby is always like ‘Go ahead. It’s your money.’ He really doesn’t care so it’s always funny to me when she says stuff like that–one of her many oddities.

      • TessD says:

        Yes, it’s just healthier to earn things yourself instead of expecting mom and dad to give stuff to you. More fun too!

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      My parents aren’t super rich at all, just comfortable, and I know they will divide their money equally between the children when they die, but I’m always telling them “there better not be anything left!” I want them to enjoy their life and spend the money they worked so hard to make.

  23. RobN says:

    As a lawyer, I think there’s a lot more to this story. At only 6 pages, this will isn’t nearly long enough to have dealt with all of his assets. For instance, there isn’t any mention at all of his stock holdings in his own company or other brokerage accounts.

    More than likely, this is a “pour over” will, which is a short document that covers only those items that haven’t already been put into other trusts. Rich people do years of tax planning to avoid probate taxes; there’s no way that he put together a plan only six weeks before he died.

    My guess is that his son benefits from another trust, probably one put together when he was a child to protect him in case his father died young. That trust would never have to be declared publicly so it would be easy to make a big deal about the son being cut- off when he’s actually well taken care of.

    • TessD says:

      Interesting, thanks for sharing!

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Very good points and I bet you’re right.

    • Bridget says:

      Thanks for pointing that out. From what I understand the wealthy are encouraged to put money into trust for their children so they won’t have to deal with the inheritance taxes should they wait until death to disburse all of their money. These things are all decided ahead of time.

  24. Angel says:

    Adding up his houses is almost $26 mil, it’s likely he split what he had in liquid assets to his wife and children then when she dies the children will get a bigger chunk. Why would he have his wife have sell homes to give then cash now? It’s like when L’Wren Scott died, everyone was crazy that she ‘left her whole fortune to Mick Jagger’. What it really amounted to was that she left him the house they shared in France so he could still live there.
    I agree with the above posters that 1) all the children are adults and should have some kind of living already
    2) Money usually goes to the spouse first. 3) We don’t know if they have trusts or other investments.

  25. Lucretias says:

    I once read in a book by Alexis Stewart (Martha’s daughter) that odlr refused to do her best friend’s wedding gown as she was “too fat.” She did a talk show with alexis and on the show she looked like a size 10-12 so that has always made me question OLDR

  26. holly hobby says:

    Annette was also one of the executors of Brooke Astor case. She and a Rockerfeller sued the son because the son was pretty much denying Brooke care unless she signed away her assets. Annette gained nothing by coming out to support Brooke so I don’t really see this as a greedy step mom move. The son got the same amount as the step kids too.