Laura Overdeck rejected a $633 million divorce payout and is back in court seeking a larger share of her billionaire husband’s hedge fund stake, despite misconduct claims against her.
Daily Mail reported that Laura Overdeck and her estranged husband, Two Sigma co-founder John Overdeck, returned this week to a Newark courtroom before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Bruce Buechler as she presses for a bigger cut of his fortune.
The multiday hearing marked its 10th day Tuesday. At issue is the value of John’s stake in the Manhattan-based hedge fund and what portion of that wealth counts as a marital asset after their 20-year marriage ended without a prenup.
Laura, 56, is seeking 35 percent of the value of John’s Two Sigma stake. Her side puts that stake at $6.2 billion. His lawyers put it at $4.5 billion. The firm itself has been described in the proceedings as valued at $80 billion, and John’s overall worth has been estimated at $8 billion.
She already turned down a settlement worth more than $600 million, a $633 million figure tied to the rejected offer. His lawyers have also described a readiness to provide $723 million in tax-free cash, calling prior offers more than enough for the couple’s marital lifestyle.
John’s attorney Jonathan Wolfe told the court the business was not a blank slate when the couple married in 2002.
"The company had done substantial work and managed hundreds of millions of dollars before the parties’ marriage."
Wolfe has argued John earned $685 million during the marriage that sat in a joint account, while amassing billions before the wedding, and that Two Sigma should not be treated as a marital asset in the way Laura claims.
Laura’s attorney Therese Lyons fired back that the company was merely a “concept” at the time of the marriage and did not begin trading until after they wed. Two Sigma was founded in 2001 by John and David Siegel, the year before the Overdecks married without a prenuptial agreement.
Lyons also cast the split as something other than a sudden change of heart.
"John Overdeck is not a man who woke up one morning and decided to divorce his wife."
Laura filed for divorce in 2022. Lyons has accused John of working to conceal assets and strip value from the marital estate, claims his side disputes as the valuation fight grinds on.
Financial expert Todd Povlich, appearing for John, gave detailed valuation testimony and was expected to walk through how he priced Two Sigma and each of the company’s 20 entities. John asked the judge to clear the courtroom for that testimony.
Judge Buechler refused to seal the entire examination. He did agree that portions touching protected company information would be heard behind closed doors. The judge worried aloud that Povlich would discuss sensitive material.
"where the values are going, what they are looking at, what they are investing in"
Those details, the judge said, were protected company secrets that could hurt the firm if aired in public. The courtroom was expected to reopen to the public Wednesday morning, with the Overdecks due back later this month for more expert testimony.
Laura did not take the stand. Judge Buechler barred her after she was accused of wrongdoing in the case. The judge said she allegedly hacked into John’s computer, broke into his post office box, and deleted evidence from her phone. Those remain accusations described in the proceedings, not a separate criminal verdict laid out in the available reporting.
In court this week she appeared engaged, typing on a laptop and speaking with her lawyers. John, who has already testified for several days, appeared more detached and looked at his cellphone.
John, also 56, told the court he grew Two Sigma from under $1 billion to $80 billion over the past 25 years. Before co-founding the firm he worked at DE Shaw & Co., where he also helped Jeff Bezos launch Amazon.
He recently bought a $72 million waterfront Palm Beach home and lives there with his girlfriend, Kimia Shadrokh, 42, a Peakstone managing director and former Moinian Group commercial real estate executive.
During the marriage the couple raised three children in a Short Hills mansion with a full-time nanny and a housekeeper who worked 15 hours a week. Laura studied astrophysics at Princeton, earned an MBA from Wharton, and founded the nonprofit Bedtime Math, which she still oversees and which helps parents teach math to children.
She is also fighting over hundreds of millions in Treasury bonds held in a trust and over the family foundation. A tax filing seen by Bloomberg showed the foundation had $920 million in assets in 2024. Laura wants equal control, or, if not, 50 percent of its value directed to a charity of her choosing.
John’s lawyers have said the cash offers on the table were “more than enough to meet the needs of the parties’ marital lifestyle.” Laura’s answer, in court and in the rejected $633 million settlement, has been that she wants a larger share tied to the Two Sigma stake she calls marital property.
The case has been described as among the largest contested divorces in New Jersey history. It went to trial in August before Judge Buechler and is still chewing through valuation witnesses, sealed testimony, and dueling stories about what the company was worth when the rings went on.
When a marriage built without a prenup collides with an $80 billion firm and a rejected nine-figure check, family court becomes the place where contracts should have done the work first.