Judge Orders Kerkorian to Pay $250,000

MGM mogul Kirk Kerkorian was ordered Friday to pay $250,000 to cover his former wife’s legal fees arising from their court battle over child support.

Superior Court Judge Lee Smalley Edmon ruled that the money, half the amount former tennis pro Lisa Bonder Kerkorian had sought, is “an interim award” that will “help defray the costs of litigation.”

At a hearing Thursday, Bonder Kerkorian’s lawyer estimated her legal costs at $327,000 and anticipated additional fees of $200,000. Bonder Kerkorian has paid $179,000, attorney Steven A. Kolodny told the judge.

Bonder Kerkorian, 37, who was married to the casino and film studio magnate for a month in 1999, is the mother of 4-year-old Kira Kerkorian. Although Kirk Kerkorian, 84, acknowledged paternity and accepted financial responsibility for the child during previous legal proceedings, attorneys now agree that he is not Kira’s biological father.

California law gives the judge discretion to order Kerkorian to pay for his former wife’s legal fees because of the disparity in their incomes. He is worth an estimated $6.5 billion, compared with her estimated worth of $12.6 million.