Wife says $43 million isn't enough in divorce settlement

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A Swedish countess who's divorcing an American former CEO says she cannot live on $43 million.

Marie Douglas-David, 36, a former investment banker, says she has no income and needs her husband, George David, 67, to pay her more than $53,000 a week to cover her expenses.

David stepped down last year as chief executive at Hartford-based United Technologies. He is still chairman of the board, however, and has an estimated net worth of $329 million.

The two accuse each other of extramarital affairs. Their divorce trial started Wednesday.

"I'm just very sad that we are where we are," Douglas-David said.

Asked if his marriage is irretrievably broken, David simply answered, "Yes."

David and Douglas-David married in 2002, but the marriage was in trouble by 2004, court papers say.

Amid a series of reconciliations, the couple signed a postnuptial agreement in October 2005 that would give her $43 million when they divorce.

Douglas-David wants the agreement voided. She accuses her husband of coercing her to sign it by preying on her fears of being divorced and childless. She's asking for about $100 million in cash and stock, plus $130,000 a month in alimony.

David is asking a judge to uphold the agreement.

Douglas-David has filed court papers saying she has more than $53,800 in weekly expenses, including maintaining a Park Avenue apartment and three residences in Sweden. Also among her weekly expenses: $700 for limousine service, $4,500 for clothes, $1,000 for hair and skin treatments, $1,500 for restaurants and entertainment, and $8,000 for travel.

Her weekly expenses exceed the $50,000 that the Census Bureau estimates was the U.S. median annual household income in 2007.

If she continued to spend at that rate, Douglas-David would burn through $43 million, not including interest, in less than 16 years.