James Alexander Stillman (August 18, 1873–January 13, 1944) was a chairman of Citigroup

Citigroup

Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...

 whose messy divorce grabbed tabloid headlines in the Roaring Twenties

Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...

.

Stillman was born in New York City and graduated Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 in 1896. His father was James Stillman

James Stillman

James Jewett Stillman was an American businessman who invested in land, banking, and railroads in New York, Texas, and Mexico.-Biography:...

 who was connected to the Rockefeller family

Rockefeller family

The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...

.

He married Anne Potter in a highly publicized wedding in 1901 at Grace Church

Grace Church

Grace Church may refer to:United States* Grace Church * Grace Church , listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Habersham County, Georgia...

.

In 1918 his father who was chairman of National City Bank of New York

Citibank

Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...

 died and the younger Stillman engaged in a fight with Frank A. Vanderlip

Frank A. Vanderlip

Frank A. Vanderlip was an American banker. From 1897-1901, Vanderlip was the Assistant Secretary of Treasury for President of the United States William McKinley's second term. In that office he negotiated with National City Bank a $200 million loan to the government to finance the Spanish...

 to control the company. He would eventually prevail but a messy divorce would contribute him to stepping down from the board.

In 1921 he filed for divorce saying that his wife's youngest child was the daughter of a half-blood Indian guide from Quebec. His wife denied the charges and accused him of fathering two illegitimate children with chorus girl

Chorus Girl

A chorus girl is a female performer in a chorus or chorus line.It may also refer to:*Chorus Girl , a compilation from Atomic Records*Chorus Girls , a 1981 musical*"The Chorus Girl", a story by Anton Chekhov...

 Florence H. Leeds. After five years the court refused the divorce saying that he had misbehaved. His wife then filed for divorce but withdrew the contest after receiving a $500,000 necklace. They sailed to Europe to receive counseling from Carl Jung

Carl Jung

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...

. The court case cost him more than $1 million but they ultimately remained married.