The billionaire at the center of New Jersey's biggest divorce case won a bid this week to keep the worth of his company's assets secret from the public as he and his wife duke it out over a staggering fortune. John Overdeck, 56, asked a judge to kick the public out of a Newark courtroom during testimony about the breakdown of the assets of his $80 billion Manhattan-based hedge fund, Two Sigma.
Family-court Judge Bruce Buechler ruled against sealing the entire testimony of Overdeck's expert financial witness, Todd Povlich, but agreed that the parts of Povlich's testimony that could reveal Two Sigma's company secrets should happen behind closed doors. The ruling came on the tenth day of a multiday hearing in which Overdeck's estranged wife, Laura Overdeck, 56, is fighting to be awarded 35 percent of John's third of the company he founded with two other people in 2001, including David Siegel, with whom he is locked in a bitter company power struggle.
The valuation gap between the two sides is enormous. John's side claims his portion of Two Sigma is worth $4.5 billion, while Laura's side says it is worth $6.2 billion, as she stakes a claim in the business as a marital asset. Laura and John, who have three children, never signed a prenuptial agreement when they married in 2002.
During the sealed portion of the hearing, Povlich was expected to explain how he arrived at his estimate of Two Sigma's overall worth by walking through what he believed each of the company's 20 entities should be valued at. Laura's lawyer, Theresa Lyons, questioned why Povlich's testimony needed to be kept secret when John's side's estimate of the company worth has already been publicized. Buechler said he worried the testimony would touch on where the values are going, what the firm is looking at, and what it is investing in — all protected company secrets that could harm Two Sigma if they got out.
Laura filed for divorce from John in 2022 after 20 years of marriage. Both math prodigies, they raised their three children in a mansion in upscale Short Hills with the help of a full-time nanny and a housekeeper working 15 hours a week. Laura has claimed John intentionally tried to hide his assets to avoid paying her a huge sum, and she has turned down a previous settlement offer of more than $600 million, arguing she is entitled to far more if she wins her bid for part of his fund.
The proceedings have taken a nasty turn. John previously testified for several days, but Buechler barred any testimony from Laura after she was accused of wrongdoing in the case — namely allegedly hacking John's computer, breaking into his post office box and deleting evidence from her phone. John recently bought a $72 million waterfront palace in Palm Beach, Florida, which he shares with current girlfriend Kimia Shadrokh, 42, a Peakstone managing director and former commercial real estate executive. The hearing is expected to reopen to the public, with additional court days scheduled later this month and testimony expected from one more expert financial witness.