Billy Joel said in 1990 that his first divorce cost him money, but the available reporting does not establish how much he paid or what share of his wealth it represented. A separate, much-publicized $90 million figure refers to a lawsuit against his former business manager—not a divorce settlement or a proven loss.
What Billy Joel said about his first divorce
In a 1990 Washington Post profile, Joel recalled: “After my first couple of years of success, I got divorced and that’s where that {money} went, between {Elizabeth} and Uncle Sam.” The remark is his recollection of money going to his former wife and taxes; the profile does not give a settlement amount or an audited accounting. The Washington Post’s 1990 profile
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Joel married Elizabeth Weber in 1973, and they divorced in 1982. Weber had also worked as his manager and business adviser, a fact that helps explain why later accounts of his finances can blur relationship and business matters. Biography.com’s Billy Joel biography
Why the $90 million figure is not a divorce cost
The same 1990 profile reported that Joel had filed a $90 million lawsuit against former business manager Frank Weber, Elizabeth Weber’s brother. Joel alleged fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. The $90 million was the amount sought in the lawsuit, not a finding of wrongdoing, a proven loss, or a divorce settlement. Frank Weber’s lawyer denied impropriety and said the actions were authorized and ratified by Joel. The Washington Post’s 1990 profile
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Divorce costs and business losses are different accounts
| Financial episode | What the reporting establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| First divorce | Joel said in 1990 that money went to Elizabeth and taxes after the divorce. The Washington Post | A divorce-only payment total or the percentage of Joel’s wealth it represented. |
| Dispute with former manager | Joel sued Frank Weber for $90 million, alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary duty; Weber’s lawyer denied wrongdoing. The Washington Post | That $90 million was a divorce settlement, a proven loss, or a court finding of liability. |
| Later litigation and business entanglements | The New Yorker reported settlements totaling roughly $10 million and said most of the money was never recovered. Its account describes litigation and problems involving contracts, investments, tax shelters, and partnerships. The New Yorker | A divorce-only recovery or a calculation of how much of Joel’s net worth he lost. |
The figures describe different things: $90 million was the amount of a lawsuit, while roughly $10 million was the total in settlements later reported in connection with broader litigation. Neither provides a divorce-only total.
What is known about Joel’s other marriages
Christie Brinkley
Joel and Brinkley married in 1985 and divorced in 1994. The Los Angeles Times reports that Brinkley filed for divorce in 1994 and recounts her account of the marriage from her 2025 memoir, including marital distress related to Joel’s drinking. The cited coverage does not state a financial settlement amount. Los Angeles Times coverage of Brinkley’s memoir
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Katie Lee
Joel married Katie Lee in 2004. They confirmed their separation in June 2009. In a later account of a documentary, TIME summarizes Lee’s description of age and lifestyle differences and her recollection that Joel resented her urging him to seek treatment. The cited account does not connect the separation to a specific financial loss. TIME’s account of the documentary
Alexis Roderick
Joel married Alexis Roderick in 2015. That later marriage is relevant to the wording “failed marriages”: the phrase refers to marriages that ended, not every marriage Joel has had. Biography.com’s Billy Joel biography
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Can anyone calculate what share of his wealth divorce consumed?
The cited reporting supplies no reliable, independently documented total for Joel’s divorce payments and no calculation of the share of his net worth lost specifically to divorces. The record supports a narrower conclusion: Joel described his first divorce as costly, while the reported lawsuit and later settlements concern broader business and legal disputes. Popular net-worth estimates do not fill that accounting gap.
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