Los Angeles court unseals explicit documents in grocery store magnate’s bitter divorce

By Julia Spalding

Published on May 23, 2006

Burkle, whose worth has recently been estimated at more than $2 billion, went to extraordinary lengths over the last three years to keep the documents private, saying that they needed to remain sealed in order to protect the safety of his children, 29-year-old Carrie Anne, and 25-year-old John.

In spite of his efforts, personal information concerning the circumstances of his high-dollar divorce is now available to the general public, including a sworn declaration by Carrie Anne that her father had told her that his security staff had obtained pictures and video of her mother Janet Burkle having sex with a boyfriend. Ronald Burkle and his attorney, Patricia L. Glaser, disputed the allegations as a misunderstanding. The daughter revealed the information in support of her mother’s 2003 application for a court restraining order, which was denied

The documents also contain information on the financial investments of the man who built his fortune by merging, buying and selling supermarket chains such as Ralph’s Grocery Co. and Food4Less. The information provides a window onto the family’s up-market lifestyle that encompassed six residences (including the historic Greenacres mansion in Beverly Hills), $25 million worth of art, a fleet of luxury cars, a private 757 jet and helicopter, and Janet Burkle’s $10,000 monthly clothing budget.

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