Daily Style Phile: Francois-Henri Pinault, The Luxury King Who May Be Doling Out $46K A Month To Linda Evangelista

It's easy to envy the fabulous life of Francois-Henri Pinault. Not only is he is a born billionaire, CEO of the world's biggest fashion house,married to one of Hollywood's hottest stars- he is described by many as extraordinarily humble. However, he has recently found himself in some major baby mama drama and might have to fork over 46K a month for child support.

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Bio

Name: Francois-Henri Pinault

Born: May 28, 1962

Hometown: Reenes, Brittany, France

Title: CEO of PPR and French Billionaire

Status: Married to Salma Hayek

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Career

Francois-Henri Pinault has been the CEO of PPR, a multinational holding company- specializing in retail and luxury brands, since 2005. Founded by his father in 1964, the french company owns luxury brands like Gucci, YSL, Bottega Veneta, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Puma. Even though he is the CEO of the world's biggest fashion empire and, according to Forbes worth over $11 billion he has remained grounded. His father tells CNN:

"He doesn't have the arrogance of some heirs. He was never brought up to think of his inheritance as a right, but as something he had to conquer."

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Married To The Stars

In March 2007, Francois and Salma Hayek announced they were expecting their first child and their engagement. In September 2007 Valentina Paloma Pinault was born in Los Angeles but soon after in 2008 the couple called off their marital engagement. They then reconciled and on Valentine's Day 2009, they were married in the City Hall of the Sixth Arrondissement in Central Paris.

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Baby Mama Drama

Francois has a lot of explaining to do. Recently, he has hit the headlines because he apparently fathered the child of supermodel Linda Evangelista. It's believed that Francois had a short-lived relationship with Linda while he and Salma were separated and according to court papers, both Linda and Salma became pregnant around the same time. But it isn't until now, 4 years later, that Linda is asking for child support.

Why wait 4 years?

"Evangelista guarded the love child's paternity, even lying to protect Pinault. A year after "Augie's" birth she was claiming in interview that the father was a New York architect." [NYPost]

Although there aren't any paternity tests that prove Francois is the father- he simply "acknowledged her allegations".

46K Child Support

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Linda is asking for a minimum of $46,000 per month in child support for their child Augustin James. To many people it sounds absolutely ridiculous. How does a 4-year-old spend $46,000?

According to Natasha Pearl, president of Aston-Pearl, the New York based lifestyle management firm for wealthy families, it's a bargain. She explains to the WSJ how a wealthy child in New York can easily spend more or less $50,000 a month.

Childcare, which could  include up to 3 full time nannies, costs up to $23,000 a month, plus there is the cost of a top private pre-school, high end clothing, hoity toity activities like chess and foreign language,his own driver for when mom is busy.

That alone totals over $41,000 and that isn't counting is toys, parties, or food.

"At first glance, $46,000 seems like an extraordinary amount and it is, but for a fortunate child in New York is is actually absolutely conceivable that his expenses could approach $50,000 a month." - Natasha Pearl

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