A self-made billionaire’s estranged wife is seeking billions from the family fortune, arguing she’s entitled to a stake in the company he built during their marriage.
Not Even a Billion
John Overdeck, 56, faces his wife Laura Overdeck in a divorce trial that began on Aug. 12 before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Bruce Buechler in Newark that will be decided without a jury, according to Bloomberg.
The couple married in October 2002, and Laura filed for divorce in 2022. They have three children ages 17 to 22.
John co-founded Two Sigma in 2001, a quantitative investment firm that uses data, mathematical models and algorithms to make investment decisions, according to Forbes.
Laura has a background in hedge funds and founded the Bedtime Math nonprofit in 2012.
Laura seeks roughly $6.2 billion from John, while her legal team says he offered her $633 million roughly one-tenth of what she is seeking, according to the New York Post.
Laura’s attorney Theresa Lyons said John schemed to leave his wife with “as little as possible.”
Lyons compared the alleged $633 million offer with the more than $10 billion she said John made during the previous nine years.
Lyons also accused John of having “methodically and strategically” plotted for decades to keep most of his wealth from Laura if they divorced.
John’s attorney Jonathan Wolfe disputes the characterization of the offer as $633 million.
Wolfe said John is proposing $723 million in tax-free equitable distribution.
Wolfe described the proposed amount as “more than enough to meet the needs of the parties’ marital lifestyle,” according to Bloomberg.
The $633 million figure comes from Laura’s camp while John’s lawyer says the actual proposal was $723 million.
Laura is seeking 35 percent of John’s stake in Two Sigma, with Lyons values that interest at approximately $6.2 billion.
Wolfe disputes the valuation saying the 35 percent stake is worth approximately $4.9 billion.
Laura is also seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in Treasury bonds held in a revocable trust.
Lyons said Laura wants to be restored to equal control of the family foundation or have John contribute 50 percent of the foundation’s value to a charity of her choice.
The Overdeck Family Foundation reported $920 million in assets in its 2024 tax filing.
The foundation focuses on education, including school readiness, school success and preparing children for the future, according to its website.
The central issue is whether John’s stake in Two Sigma should be considered marital property.
John’s lawyers argue it should not be because Two Sigma was founded in 2001 nearly two years before John and Laura married in October 2002.
Bloomberg reported Wolfe said in his opening statement, “The company had done substantial work and managed hundreds of millions of dollars before the parties’ marriage.”
“John acquired his interest for the work he did before the marriage,” Wolfe added.
Lyons described Two Sigma before the marriage as a “concept of a notion of a company.”
Lyons argued that Two Sigma did not begin actively trading assets until after the couple married and that John’s stake did not vest until after the marriage.
Two Sigma had less than $1 billion in assets under management in 2001.
John testified that the firm now manages approximately $80 billion, according to Bloomberg. According to Forbes, the firm manages around $60 billion.
Lyons said the couple “built a family together” and a “substantial charitable legacy” through their family foundation which supports improvements in U.S. education.
She said he “worked tirelessly” to hide assets from Laura.
Lyons accused John of orchestrating a “multi-step scheme” to strip billions of dollars from the marital estate and “cheat her out of control of that charitable foundation.”
“John Overdeck is not a man who woke up one morning and decided to divorce his wife,” Lyons said, according to the New York Post.
Wolfe said John earned approximately $685 million during the marriage and that all of it was placed into the couple’s joint account.
Wolfe also argued that John had already made billions before marrying Laura.
Before founding Two Sigma John worked at D.E. Shaw and later became an early employee of Amazon, where he worked for Jeff Bezos.