There’s speculation that Eric Schmidt is selling $1.5 billion of his Google shares to help settle an upcoming divorce with wife Wendy. The Google chairman has been dating top Council on Foreign Relations exec Lisa Shields for a year and a half. Filings last week showed Schmidt, 56, intends to sell 2.4 million shares over a year. Google said he was trying to raise money and diversify his investments after 10 years as Google’s chief executive. But a source said, “There are many reasons why he’s selling shares, mostly business reasons, but he’s also working towards a transition and an amicable separation and settlement with his wife. They are both very private, so they’re quietly dividing up assets without drawing attention. There’s been no paperwork filed.” The source said Schmidt spends a lot of time in New York with Shields, for whom he just bought a Dutch Warmblood show-jumping horse. A Google rep said, “The sale is part of a standard selling procedure to allow for diversification.”