Why Jenny Paulson is ‘humiliated’ by her ex-husband’s divorce offer: she shares 2 daughters with the billionaire Donald Trump donor, and is accusing him of hiding stacks of cash in secret trusts

Jun 5 , 2024

Jenny Zaharia Paulson has pushed back against her ex’s divorce offer, saying it is “humiliating and degrading”. Photo: Getty Images

The epic legal battle between Donald Trump donor John Paulson and his ex Jenny after their split is looking to be a costly one – just like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos’ divorces

Jenny Zaharia Paulson is a Romanian immigrant who worked as John’s assistant before they got married in 2000; now he’s engaged to influencer Alina de Almeida, who’s 33 years his junior

After the high-profile separations of Bill and Melinda Gates, and Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott, it’s now billionaire investor John Paulson and his wife Jenny’s turn to make headlines with their messy – and very costly – divorce.

Jenny Paulson and John Paulson in happier times. Photo: Getty Images

It’s recently come to light that Jenny is playing hardball after being “humiliated” by John’s original offer. In an email to her billionaire husband in 2022, Jenny reportedly wrote: “The idea that I should receive less than the children is humiliating and demeaning, because this is the message that it gives to the world and to my own daughters.”

John, a hedge fund manager best known for shorting the housing market in 2007 and raising millions for Donald Trump, left Jenny in late 2021 for health guru and influencer Alina de Almeida, who’s 33 years younger than him.

So what do we know about the woman who was by John Paulson’s side for 21 years before he filed for divorce?

How did Jenny Paulson meet John Paulson?

John Paulson, pictured here in 2005, is the founder of New York-based hedge fund Paulson & Co. Photo: Reuters

At the time of writing, 68-year-old John Paulson is worth US$3.5 billion, according to Forbes, and amassed most of his wealth throughout their 21-year marriage. The same publication also reports the two met when John hired Jenny as an assistant, with the pair tying the knot in 2000.

According to El País, they have two daughters: Danielle, 20, and Giselle, 18.

What is Jenny Paulson’s background?

Jenny Zaharia Paulson (right) was born in Romania. Photo: Getty Images

Although John became a billionaire in 2007, Jenny Zaharia Paulson has mostly stayed out of the press. The 55-year-old is a Romanian immigrant who moved to the United States after her athlete brother defected from their country’s strict communist regime, per The Times.