Victoria Beckham faced a painful reminder of her strained relationship with eldest son Brooklyn on Sunday as families across the UK celebrated Mother’s Day.
While many were sharing tributes to their mums, Brooklyn instead posted a message to his mother-in-law, Claudia Heffner Peltz, after celebrating her 71st birthday with wife Nicola Peltz the night before.
The US-based influencer shared a photo of himself with Nicola and Claudia on Instagram, writing: “Happy birthday to the best mother-in-law. Love u so much and hope u had the most amazing day.”
Claudia’s birthday fell on March 12, but the post appeared just hours before Mothering Sunday in the UK, drawing attention amid ongoing speculation about tensions within the Beckham family.
Brooklyn married into one of America’s wealthiest families when he tied the knot with Nicola, the daughter of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz and former model Claudia Heffner Peltz.
According to Forbes, Nelson Peltz’s fortune is estimated at around £1.2 billion — significantly more than the roughly £500 million net worth attributed to Victoria and David Beckham in the latest The Sunday Times Rich List.
Brooklyn and Nicola married in 2022 in a lavish £3 million ceremony at the Peltz family’s £76 million Palm Beach estate. Three years later they renewed their vows at another family property — a sprawling 130-acre estate in upstate New York reportedly complete with an indoor ice rink and helipad.
Nelson officiated the ceremony while Nicola wore her mother’s wedding dress, with the Beckham family notably absent.
The vow renewal followed months of rumours about a rift within the Beckham family.
In January, Brooklyn appeared to confirm tensions in a series of Instagram posts in which he said he felt compelled to respond to what he described as “controlled narratives” about his relationship with his parents.
He wrote that he did not want to reconcile with his family and insisted he was “standing up for myself for the first time in my life.”
But what about the life he has married into?
Who are the Peltzes and how exactly did they make their billions?
Nelson Peltz, 83, may be the 432nd richest person in the US, owning a vast property portfolio, a Renoir and a couple of PJs (private jets, duh) — oh and used to commute to work by helicopter, that is until his neighbours complained about the racket. But the Peltz patriarch, who counts Rupert Murdoch and golfer Greg Norman as friends, came from rather more humble beginnings.
He was born in New York to Jewish parents. Later, after dropping out of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1963, with the intention of becoming a ski instructor, he ended up joining his family’s food delivery business. He started out as a driver and worked his way up the ranks expanding the business and eventually buying a stake in the vending-machine company Triangle Industries Inc., which he built into a Fortune 100 company.
But it was in 1997 that Peltz really hit the jackpot and founded Trian, a food and beverages company, investing in and acquiring brands including Cadbury, Pepsi, Quaker Oats, Heinz and Schweppes.
Peltz married his third wife, fashion model Claudia Heffner in 1985, who is the mother of Nicola and eight of his ten children. Nicola is a model and actress, having starred in the Psycho prequel Bates Motel and Transformers: Age of Extinction. She also wrote and directed her own film, Lola, in 2024 (Elon Musk was at the premiere, of course).
Nicola’s older brother Will has also appeared in several teen flicks, such as Sierra Burgess is a Loser and Time Freak. Meanwhile, their other brother Brad deviated from the theatrical route and competed as a professional ice hockey player for Ottawa Senators, a team that it was rumoured Nelson Peltz once flirted with buying.
Nicola grew up splitting her time between her family’s Palm Beach home and a 27-bedroom mansion in Bedford, New York. Their 130-acre East Coast bolthole once belonged to DeWitt Wallace, the co-founder of Reader’s Digest and boasts an indoor ice rink, flock of albino peacocks and a collection of Old Masters.
But the family spend most of their time in the wealthy district of Palm Beach, counting Glenn Close, Bruce Willis and Donald Trump as neighbours. Nelson was a staunch Trump supporter during his initial run for president, reportedly hosting a fundraiser in Trump’s honour, charging £470,000 per couple for the privilege.
But their relationship soured after the infamous Capitol Hill riot, where Trump refused to denounce the violent storming of the government building by his supporters. Following the incident, Peltz spoke out publicly saying he was “sorry” he had voted for Trump in the 2020 election. However, he has since spoken positively of the POTUS, and boasted about how he played “matchmaker” between Trump and Elon Musk (a relationship that has also seen its fair share of highs and lows).
Much was speculated about Brooklyn and Nicola’s rumoured £3 million wedding budget, but Nicola’s twin brothers’ bar mitzvah reportedly cost between £800,000 and £1.5 million, which makes her nuptials seem almost frugal. Luckily for her, she got to do it all over again three years later.
Who knows what else is in store for the Peltz-Beckham clan. One thing’s for sure — the internet will be along for the ride.
