Billy Joel's First Marriage Was A Roller Coaster That Concluded With His Ex-Wife's Brother Stealing $30 Million

Summary

• Billy Joel's marriage to Elizabeth Weber was a roller coaster, ending with her brother embezzling $30 million from the star.
• Joel quit songwriting after one perceived failure, which he kept hidden for years, revealing his complex relationship with music.
• Despite a tumultuous first marriage, Joel found happiness with his fourth wife Alexis Roderick, valuing acceptance and love.

Billy Joel earned fame and recognition because of his incredible talent as a musician, singer and songwriter. One of the most popular musical artists on the planet, Joel has written hit after hit throughout his career, including several love songs. Some were inspired by the women in his life. However, he does hate one of his own songs, We Didn't Start the Fire.

Billy Joel has been married four times, and he lost a huge chunk of his fortune because of failed marriages. When Joel met his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, she was married. Joel and Weber eventually tied the knot in 1973, and were together for nine years. Joel's marriage to his first wife was a roller-coaster that concluded with his ex-wife's brother stealing $30 million from the star.

Billy Joel And Elizabeth Weber's Marriage Was A Roller Coaster

Some of Billy Joel's best songs are truthful about his personal life, including several he penned about the women of his life. For Elizabeth Weber, he wrote She's Always a Woman, Just the Way You Are, and She's Got a Way. Unimpressed that her talented husband wrote and performed Just the Way You Are for her as a birthday gift, after hearing it, Weber wanted to know, "Do I get the publishing, too?"

Some reportedly felt the marriage was problematic for the Movin' Out singer. "Many around Joel were concerned: They found Weber controlling, manipulative, rude and far more enthralled with the rock n' roll lifestyle than Joel." They filed for divorce in 1982, but Joel wanted to work it out, and offered to purchase anything Weber desired, including a town house for $4 million on the Upper East Side.

In April 1982, Joel was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. While recuperating in the hospital, Weber visited, and wanted him to "sign over everything he owned". The singer remarked, "I may have acted like an idiot a time or two, but I'm not a complete idiot. That really killed it right there and then," per Page Six.

According to Grunge, Joel told author Fred Schruers, author of Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography, about Weber visiting him with the appalling request.

"I'm in a hospital bed and you're shedding crocodile tears and bringing me a contract that completely screws me? You can't do that to somebody." After Joel filed for divorce, Weber apparently made a lot of demands. "It was a pretty hefty divorce agreement," he recalled. Things took another shocking turn when Joel learned his ex-wife's brother, Frank, had embezzled millions.

Billy Joel's Ex-Wife's Brother Stole $30 Million From Him As his Financial Manager

Billy Joel and Elizabeth Weber divorced after nine years of marriage, which was a roller coaster. Along with the ups and downs the Piano Man singer faced with his ex-wife, her brother, Frank Weber, stole millions from Joel as his financial manager.

Several celebrities have had their earnings stolen or have been scammed by someone they trusted with their finances. Elton John was scammed out of $29 million. Billy Joel had $30 million stolen. After his divorce from Elizabeth Weber, he felt he could still trust his ex-wife's brother, Frank, to handle his finances.

Joel's lawyer, Leonard Marks, remarked, "He had such a deep trust in Weber that he named him godfather of his daughter," per UPI. "All this came to light when we got the results of an investigative audit conducted in July and August," Marks added.

The investigations "revealed major incidents of fraud and dishonest dealings, virtually from the [1980] inception" of Frank Weber's contract, according to People.

Marks called Weber's reported theft "the worst I've ever seen." Joel filed a lawsuit in 1989, suing Frank Weber for $90 million for "fraud and breach of financial security". Joel wanted "compensatory damages" ($30 million) for what Weber had embezzled. The Vienna singer was also seeking another $60 million in "punitive" damages.

According to the suit, "Weber double-billed Joel for his music videos and cheated expenses such as travel and accounting fees. Weber had also allegedly given huge loans to enterprises of his own in Joel's name and mortgaged the artist's copyrights for $15 million without telling Joel."

The outcome wasn't one Joel wanted; Weber filed for bankruptcy, and the case was settled out of court.

Joel compared his ex-wife and her brother to a notorious family from the Renaissance era known for their corruption and greed among other things. "I hooked up with the Borgias!" the singer told author Fred Schruers, according to Grunge, "What a family to pick."

The Couple's Relationship Had A Rocky Beginning

Billy Joel and Elizabeth Weber had a rocky relationship from the start. Joel first met Weber while she was married to his friend and bandmate, Jon Small. The Uptown Girl singer and Weber had an affair, which her husband, Small, found out. According to Page Six, "When Small discovered the affair, Weber left them both, disappearing for weeks."

At this point, Joel was depressed, struggling in his personal life and as a musician, and suicidal. He attempted to take his own life twice. After the second attempt, he checked himself into a mental hospital for a few weeks. After Weber returned, she and Joel married in 1973.

Joel spoke with Fred Schruers, about Weber. "She wasn't like a lot of the other girls I knew at that time who had taken home ec and cooking classes."

She became her husband's manager, and Joel began finding success as a solo artist. Before Joel and Weber tied the knot, their relationship had a rocky beginning. Joel's marriage to Elizabeth Weber was a roller coaster that concluded with her brother Frank stealing $30 million from the star.

Despite all of his success, Billy Joel hasn't always had luck in relationships. His first marriage was filled with highs and lows, ending with Joel having millions stolen. However, The Stranger singer has married a fourth time, to Alexis Roderick. Joel told Fred Schruers, "You just need one - one person out of millions - to know and accept and love you for being, well, just the way you are..."