Jackie Onassis: Keep Money Separate

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Agree with the comment two back. Common wisdom is that she married Onassis to get her kids out of the US, and he married for the status of having beatiful John Kennedy's widow for a wife. As far as I can tell -- not for love -- and they did not have any kids. Relationship was strained at best. Hhhhhmmmm.....

She did walk away with an undisclosed ammount of money, although, as far as Ican tell, she was not even in Oanassis' will. Then she ran off with an executor of the will.

A new view of the glamour girl.

Jim Pedork of CA 5:39AM January 02, 2011

Geez, you'd think the woman murdered somebody by the way everyone wants to pin her to the wall all the time. So she liked having money... who doesn't? So she married wealthy men... somebody has to, or wealthy men would always be bachelors. Duh.

Sounds to me like the biggest vice at play here is plain old envy, and Jackie isn't who I'm talking about.

Mark of CA 1:40AM November 13, 2010

That's very funny that she said that considering after her husband Onassis died, she was in legal battles with his daughter of inheritance for 2 years, and ended Jackie O ended up walking away with $26 million....

Alexandra of NJ 2:44PM April 10, 2010

Interesting... Jackie talking about separating money... when she was the biggest gold digger ever... yeah... we all believe she kept Onassis money separated.

Ale Hagar of FL 2:37PM May 30, 2009

What struck me is that her advice didn't cover her actual experience. Never marry? She might have added: never marry for poverty, always marry if there's money.

Sarah Fagan of CA 11:39PM March 07, 2009

"piece of advice she often gave to young women: that they should never marry or mix their money."

Can someone explain that to me? If a middle-class woman happens to marry a rich man, she should do what exactly? I mean, that is a relatively common occurrence. So despite the awkward sentence structure ("they should never marry"?) it seems Jackie thought it best if each partner keeps what they have brought to the union separate. And come holiday time? I'm off to Mauritius honey - have fun in Cleveland." Christmas? "Thanks for the great socks and tie - do you like your Lexus?" What Jackie thought is what Jackie thought - her own story is enough of a train wreck to act as a warning.

SteveP of ME 5:22PM December 16, 2008

I read the article over the weekend and I think the main point was that she doesn't want to get trapped in an abusive relationship because she's financially dependent on her spouse. While I understand that point, my wife and I share our account (and I'm the primary bread winner), since I think even if we ever got divorced, splitting money is one thing divorce courts are for. Regardless, the real financial issue for both parties is not having their own stash, but being able to get a job to continue earning, so I feel fine sharing a bank account, so long as my wife has the training and confidence to get a job should she need one.

Ned of WA 3:31PM December 16, 2008

My wife & I have been married for 11 years. We joined out accounts together a few days after our wedding. You bank account should be a open book to your spouse.

Roderick Simmons of MS 10:20AM December 16, 2008

considering that jackie couldn't get any more money out of bil (ted kennedy) thus her reason to marry the rich onassis, once she bled him dry, she was off onto something else.

i wouldn't have listened to anything jackie had to say. nor the kennedy's for that matter.

live your own life Kimberly.

anon of MA 6:24PM December 15, 2008

Depends on your situation- I am in a strictly commission based field and soon after marrying we (read: "I") got pregnant. Kids bring a whole other dimension to the equation- to daycare or stay at home parent. It was our intention to start a family and we opted, with considered input from our parents to combine. In my chosen field of real estate it can be feast or famine and combining made the most sense for us on all dimensions. We discuss purchases but are like-minded about long term goals and spending habits, so money is rarely a point of contention. I think with any serious relationship- marriage or living together, it needs to be discussed and clear. The sooner the better.

Colleen of 5:28PM December 15, 2008

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Alpha Consumer

Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for U.S. News & World Report, writes about making smarter financial decisions. She’s the author of Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back.

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