Feb. 14--Chicago money manager Anne Dias, whose billionaire husband is divorcing her, said she "was fearful for her safety" after he damaged a bedpost during a 2003 argument and said that, after they married, he pressured her to quit working, saying she'd "never make a difference in the family's net worth" and that he once gave her a "my way or the highway" ultimatum.
It was among the new revelations in a divorce between Citadel founder Ken Griffin, who Forbes estimates is the richest man in Illinois, and Dias, his wife since 2003.
In a filing Friday in Cook County Circuit Court, Dias recalled that, when her husband urged her to shut down her hedge fund business, he told her that he'd "always take care of you, whatever you need."
In their divorce, she is seeking to have their prenuptial agreement thrown out; he is seeking to have it validated. He's worth about $5.5 billion; her net worth is about $50 million. They have three children.
She said that Griffin said he didn't want to be "part of a two hedge fund family." She said that, a few weeks later, he gave her a "my way or the highway" ultimatum: she would close her hedge fund, or he'd leave her.
She also provided more detail about a fight they had over their prenuptial agreement before their wedding. She earlier said he damaged a piece of furniture, although he has denied acting violently.
In her filing on Friday, she said he "intimidated her by pulling one of the bed posts off its socket in their bedroom and throwing it violently towards her." He also screamed at her, she said.
"Anne felt threatened and was fearful for her safety," she said.
Griffin has said that Dias had multiple law firms review the prenuptial agreement, and that it was signed in the presence of her lawyers in their office.
"They will say and do anything to try to get as much as they can and to take the children away from their home in Chicago," Griffin said. Chicago-based Griffin is seeking joint custody; she wants to move with the children to New York, where she lived before they married. She wants sole custody with reasonable visitation for Griffin.
"Anne was well represented by 3 well-known law firms and knew exactly what she was signing: an agreement that would make her independently wealthy for the rest of her life," Griffin said in a statement. He has said she has received about $40 million under the prenup.
byerak@tribpub.com
