Celebrity News

Trump: Kluge, you’re fired

Donald Trump has fired one-time fabulously wealthy socialite Patricia Kluge from her own former winery. Kluge, who famously got a $100 million divorce settlement in 1990 from Metromedia billionaire John Kluge — then blew the lot building her lavish estate, and declared bankruptcy in June 2011, was forced to turn over her gorgeous Charlottesville, Va., mansion to a foreclosure auction and sell off her land and her beloved 1,000-acre Kluge Estate Vineyard. Trump bought the vineyard for $6.2 million, and his son Eric has since taken over the business, and has produced award-winning wines. Kluge — a longtime friend of Trump, who also bought the surrounding land and placed a bid on her mansion — was offered a role as a VP of operations and stayed on to assist Eric. But now we’re told Kluge has been told she is no longer needed full time. Trump explained to us, “We gave her a transition contract for the first year, and that has ended. We are still working with her a little bit, and we still have a good relationship with Patricia. But it is never easy when you build something like that and you end up working for the people that are owning it. She has an amazing taste for quality, the wines are all the highest in the country.” Eric told us that, “Patricia’s role was in operations, as we transitioned from a bank-owned property to a property that we owned. She did a nice job.” He added Kluge’s current husband, Bill Moses, runs the property as general manager and will stay on. He added, “We have 300 acres under vine, which puts us the largest winery on the East Coast. We can do 125,000 cases in a year, which is major.” Before the foreclosure, Trump paid $500,000 for 200 acres around the house, which includes the front yard. The deal also included first refusal on the mansion, which had been up for sale for $100 million. Trump bid $3.6 million for it at a foreclosure auction, but Bank of America refused to sell it and bought the home back for $15.3 million. Trump is now in litigation with the bank and hopes the matter will be settled to his advantage. Trump hopes continue to develop “it to one of the finest vineyards in the country” and to convert the house in to a luxury hotel. Kluge, when reached by phone, declined to comment.