Sue Gross replaced the Picasso painting, Le Repos, and left her billionaire Wall Street investor ex-husband a fake according to Page Six.
“Bill was shocked Sue already had the piece. She stole the damn thing,” a source shared with the publication.
Bill Gross and ex-wife turned to a coin toss to decide who would keep the $35 million-dollar asset last summer. Sue won the coin toss, but she insured her loss by swapping out the original with her rendering before the toss took place.
Following the flip, the husband attempted to have items from his Laguna Beach home to his ex-wife including the Picasso painting, but she declined. Amidst the divorce, the couple’s art collection had been a praised, January 2017, by Sotheby’s except one– the infamous Le Repos painting. It was appraised somewhere else in Laguna.
Come November of that year; Sue was called to testify. She admitted to swiping the painting because according to an email her husband sent her, he insisted she take furniture and art of her choosing. “And so I did,” she said.
Her testimony did not end there as lawyers pursued to question her deception. Page Six sought Sue’s lawyers for comment and received no response. Reps for Bill Gross declined to comment. Why they divorced initially is not known.
The original is expected sell for as high as $35 million at Sotheby’s Monday evening.
Photo Credit: , Sotheby’s
