The Soros family is famous for its philanthropy, but billionaire George Soros’ son was allegedly less than charitable to his wife while she was battling cancer.
The scion, Robert Soros, quietly funneled $21 million in joint tax refunds into personal accounts while his wife was in recovery, according to testimony in their bitter divorce trial.
Melissa Soros took the witness stand in Manhattan Supreme Court Friday to say she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent intensive rounds of chemotherapy in 2008.
“It was a large bulky tumor,” Melissa, 51, said.
“I spent five to seven days in the hospital for each round between June 12 and Sept. 18, 2008,” she testified.
After the treatments, the former filmmaker and accomplished equestrian got pneumonia.
“I was pretty out of it,” she said.
“I once missed a stair and broke my ankle. I couldn’t sleep. My vision was blurred. It was terrible, excruciating,” she said.
Melissa also testified about her shrewd accounting skills before becoming ill.
“I spent a lot of time making sure we were not being overcharged,” she said. Once Melissa even caught “an employee of the hardware store furnishing their home on our account.”
But during her recovery, she stopped paying attention to household finances.
“I had to concentrate on healing myself, on staying alive,” said the mother of two college-aged kids.
In 2010 and 2011, her husband Robert put four checks — for $5 million, $7.5 million, $4 million and $4.5 million — in his own HSBC account, said Melissa’s attorney, Bernard Clair.
Robert told the judge he had a prior oral agreement with his wife that he would retain the refunds because he paid the taxes.
Robert also acknowledged that at times he had put other refunds into joint checking accounts if there were “immediate expenses.”
The trial — solely over how the couple’s massive tax refunds will be divvied up — resumes next month.
Melissa already has the family’s $21 million Greenwich Village town house, but they’re still fighting over other assets.
Robert, who holds a top post at the family investment fund, sued his wife of 22 years for divorce in 2014.
His estimated net worth tops $350 million, according to published reports about his property and income.
His father, the politically liberal financier who runs Soros Fund Management, is the world’s second wealthiest hedge fund manager with a $24.5 billion fortune, according to Forbes.