Report: Heather Wants $19K A Day From Paul
Anyone watching the divorce battle between Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills McCartney could be forgiven for wondering whether the "unseemly" scramble for Paul's money is taking place in the courts or in the papers, remarks CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips, who calls that fight "increasingly vulgar."
He says the latest broadside, attributed to friends of the former Beatle, is the leak to a British tabloid that Heather is trying to "hold McCartney up" for alimony payments of the equivalent of about $19,000 a day. That's almost $7 million a year, just to get by.
Now, London is one of the world's more expensive places to live, Phillips observes, and the temptations of extreme shopping are unlimited, but even for someone who's developed a taste for life in the fast lane, that's a fair chunk of change.
"I think there has been a real attempt, which has been quite successful, in fact, to portray Heather as greedy, grasping, and asking for more than she's entitled to," says media lawyer Mark Stephens.
Heather, meanwhile, is about to launch herself on the celebrity dance show circuit.
Click here to see photos of Heather Mills McCartney
Still, for Paul there's a danger in gloating about Heather's apparent appetite for his fortune.
"You do see a thing of like a very powerful and rich man being able to afford the best PR and the best lawyers," says society writer Neil Sean, "so, consequently, I think it's gonna be tough for him, because I think it will leave a mark on his personality.
"We won't always remember him now as this great composer and pop star. Perhaps we might sort of think, 'Oh, he married Heather Mills.' and that could be quite bad for him."
It sure could, Phillips concludes, if Heather gets what Paul's friends say she wants.