Celebrity News

Denise Rich dumps US passport to save millions in tax

Wealthy socialite and philanthropist Denise Rich has dumped her US citizenship to save millions on taxes.

Rich, the former wife of pardoned billionaire trader Marc Rich, renounced her US passport in November.

The Post reported in January that she has put her Fifth Avenue penthouse up for sale for $65 million – the city’s most expensive co-op apartment and the scene of many of her famous parties. The apartment is still for sale through Corocoran.

Rich, 68, is a Grammy-nominated songwriter who wrote songs recorded by Aretha Franklin, Mary J Blige and Celine Dion and a popular face on the New York and jet set social scene.

Her maiden name, Denise Eisenberg, appeared in the Federal Register on April 30 in a quarterly list of Americans who renounced their US citizenship and permanent residents who handed in their green cards.

By dumping her US passport, Rich likely will save tens of millions of dollars or more in US taxes over the long haul, according to Reuters.

Michael Heidt, a lawyer in Hollywood, Florida, who represented her in a recent lawsuit said Rich had dumped her US passport “so that she can be closer to her family and to Peter Cervinka, her long-time partner.”

Rich plans to make London her main residence, Heidt told Reuters.

Rich, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and political fund-raiser, was married to Marc Rich, an international fugitive indicted for illegal oil deals with Iran before he was controversially pardoned by President Bill Clinton on his last day in office.

One of her three daughters, Gabrielle Rich Aouad, 27, died from leukemia in 1996. Rich then co-founded the Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research to fight the disease. Rich throws a glamorous fundraising ball every fall for the charity which has raised millions and been attended by stars from President Clinton to Michael Jackson, Naomi Campbell and Kim Kardashian.

Rich also owns a mansion in Aspen, Colorado and is a frequent visitor to St. Tropez, where she holds a yearly party in August on her 157-foot yacht, Lady Joy

She is the latest wealthy name to renounce their American citizenship. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin gave up his US passport to become a citizen of Singapore, an offshore tax haven, before the company’s initial public offering in May.

Denise didn’t respond to emails today.