AJ Benza Bio, Age, Family, Wife, Books, Donald Trump, Net worth

AJ Benza Biography

AJ Benza (Alfred Joseph Benza) is an American television host, gossip columnist, author, and actor. In the 1990’s he was a celebrated gossip columnist. He is the host of ‘Fame is a Bitch’ podcast.

His family moved to West Islip, New York on Long Island after his birth. He has two sisters. A.J graduated from West Islip High School in 1980 and later joined C.W. Post College on Long Island where he majored in Journalism.

A.J. Benza Age

He was born on 2nd June 1962 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York (56 years as of 2018).

AJ Benza Family

His full name is Alfred Joseph Benza, was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York. Benza’s parents are AL (father) and Lilian (mother). He has two sisters Rosalie and Lorraine. When Benza was born his family moved to West Islip, New York (Long Island) from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

AJ Benza Education

After graduating from West Islip High School in 1980, Benza majored in journalism at C.W. Post College on Long Island.

AJ Benza

AJ Benza Wife

In 2013 Benza married Virginia Folk. He was previously married and got divorced in 1991, details about his first wife are not available but during an interview, he revealed that he got divorced in 1991.

‘After my divorce in 1991, I started heading into Manhattan and hitting any nightclub that would let me in. Once I made friends with a few doormen I was able to go almost anywhere.’

AJ Benza Children

Together with his wife Virginia has two children Roxy Benza and Rocco Benza.

AJ Benza Podcast

AJ Benza hosts a podcast ‘Fame is a Bitch’ where he deconstructs some of the biggest scandals and tragedies of our lifetime. These stories are about the powerful seduction and fateful grip of fame. Our tragic figures are those that couldn’t fight off the influences, pressures, and distractions that worked like grease upon their grip. Benza brings an insiders perspective and his tough-guy demeanor, bold narratives and aggressive pursuit of the truth, distinguish him as an authentic and original voice.

AJ Benza Stuttering John | Howard Stern

In 2011 when AJ Benza appeared on The Howard Stern Show he slapped a Stern staff “Stuttering John” Melendez in the face due to his belief that Melendez was choosing to only put negative calls through. Melendez had also made a prank call which berated Benza’s failed talk show A. J. After Hours. The incident led to Tom Chiusano giving him a lifetime ban from Stern’s show

AJ Benza Donald Trump

In 2016 during an interview with Adam Carolla AJ Benza talked about his earlier days as a gossip reporter in New York City. He said he used to hung out with celebrities until the wee wee hours of the morning, reported out sensational rumors, and constantly traded favors in order to get juicy tidbits for columns at Newsday and the New York Daily News.

Most of the trades he said involved owing to the source a favor in the future. He revealed that Donald Trump was one of his biggest sources.

“Donald Trump was the biggest guy in the world with that, Trump spent every morning on the phone with me, with Page 6––he loved to get his name in the paper. As a result, he would drop dimes on other people in every industry he knew the dirt on. You put the story in the paper, and then, three days later, you say, ‘Donald Trump was at a Knicks game with this supermodel.’ And he’s happy. That’s all it took.”

He called Trump shameless and shrewd at the same time.

“you might not like his style, but no one has played the American public and the U.S. government to this extent, and the media,” adding, “when he was with Marla Maples and we were going to write that they broke up, he cared more about ‘get my wealth in there, get the number right, how many billions I’m worth––that’s more important.’” Benza said.

During an interview with Huffington Post, he said that he asked Trump why he wants to be the president of America and miss out on things on which he said he loved America and want to fix certain things.

“Before he won, I actually asked him ‘are you really serious about doing this? How many great summers do you have left in life?’ He replied ‘at least 30.’ He thinks grandly. I asked: ‘Why would you want to spend the next 4 years away from the things you love?’ He said ‘I love America and I want to fix certain things.’”

He also revealed that he at times writes to Trump when he is unhappy about his decisions.

” Although I voted for Trump, I destroyed him on my podcast and when I’m unhappy with decisions he’s made, I call it out. I know an awful lot about him personally and I do knock him. I still send him notes when I think he’s off. Once he got back to me about it. When he acknowledges what I’ve said and basically expresses that he appreciates my points or my perspective, that’s really the most you can hope for with him. He’s a confident man who doesn’t say he was wrong. He will say: ‘That idea may not be 100 percent wrong’”.

AJ Benza Harvey Weinstein

Benza knew of Harvey Weinstein’s affair with Georgina Chapman in 2003 while he was still married. Benza offered Weinstein with gossip that would draw attention away from his affair.

In 2017 when reports emerged about sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein, Weinstein reached out to Benza asking for his help. He discussed paying Benza “up to $20,000 a month” to investigate the claims made against him although Weinstein did not follow up on his claim.

Case Closed AJ Benza

In 2016 A.J. Benza presented Case Closed, in the show Benza explores famous tragedies and mysteries involving celebrities. He presented new and old evidence to help solve the puzzles that often made headlines when the deaths occurred. First-person accounts from family members, eyewitnesses and experts help uncover the truth that helps Benza close each case.

AJ Benza Career

AJ Benza began his career writing sports for Long Island Newsday for a few years. After his divorce in 1991, he began visiting night clubs and one day Mickey Rourke took him to a Rex, a little spot downtown. While at the club he said during an interview he saw drugs, sex, etc that blew him away. He called Linda Stasi, who was editing the “Inside New York” gossip page for NY Newsday and gave her a few tidbits. He was soon hired by NY Newsday, through assistance from Linda Stasi.

The Daily News was bought by Mort Zuckerman, after a few months, and wanted Linda. Linda bought AJ alongside. A year later Linda quit and Benza became the writer and editor of the page “Hot Copy.” He eventually began writing, “Downtown,” a Sunday column all about him and his exploits. He was later fired from New York Daily News by editor Pete Hamill.

In the mid-1990’s he began appearing on ‘The Gossip Show’ on E! Entertainment Television. He made appearances on talk shows such as Geraldo, Hard Copy, The Montel Williams Show, The Maury Povich Show, and various other television talk shows.

After he was fired from New York Daily News he began hosting Mysteries and Scandals on E!. The program detailed true crimes and scandals involving celebrities. His most famed catchphrase on the show was “Fame, ain’t it a bitch,” which later became the title of his autobiography. The show ran between 1998 and 2000 for three seasons.

Benza began a late-night E! talk show known as A. J. After Hours in 2001 although it was canceled after low viewership and critical acclaim.

Benza hosted the reality show Cold Turkey II on ION Television. He was also a co-host on the first five seasons of High Stakes Poker (along with Gabe Kaplan) on the GSN.

He appeared in ‘Gimmie My Reality Show’, a reality competition series on Fox Reality, in 2008. The show followed a group of D-list celebrities with previous reality credentials as they battle for their chance to shine with their own show. But, midway through the show, he walked away from production. He cited not wanting to have his young children subjected to cameras inside their home.

AJ Benza Books

2001: Fame, ain’t it a bitch
2015: ’74 and Sunny

AJ Benza Movies

Ransom
The Deli
Not Even the Trees
Scriptfellas
Chump Change
Risque, P.S. Your Cat Is Dead!
Pauly Shore Is Dead
Rocky Balboa

AJ Benza Net Worth

Benza has an estimated net worth of $500 thousand.

AJ Benza Instagram

AJ Benza Twitter

Tweets by RealAJBenza

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Athina Onassis’s Net Worth, Biography, Career, Awards, Fact and Life Story

Athina Onassis Net Worth: Athina Onassis is a French-Greek heiress and equestrian who has a net worth of $1 billion. She is the sole surviving heir to the Aristotle Onassis shipping fortune, and her net worth is largely a result of her famously wealthy family, but Onassis has made a name for herself as a competitive show jumper. Her career in the world of equestrian sport began as a teenager, when she was still known as Athina Roussel. Since then, Athina has attempted to reconnect with her Greek heritage by reinstating her Greek last name and learning the Greek language. She has also been involved in some legal problems involving her inheritance, which was locked up in a trust fund controlled by a board of directors at the Onassis Company. Even her net worth has been called into question by those in the media, with some asserting that she is not a “billionaire heiress” as she is often referred to. Still, Onassis continues to be considered a billionaire by most of those “in the know,” and it’s a sure thing that her financial future is secure barring some kind of unforeseen catastrophic economic collapse. Early Life: Athina Onassis was born Athina Hélène Onassis on January 29, 1985, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Her mother, Christina, was a Greek heiress, socialite, and businesswoman, and her father, Thierry Roussel, is a French pharmaceutical heir. Christina and Thierry divorced in 1987 after Roussel fathered two children with model Marianne “Gaby” Landhage. The following year, Christina sadly passed away from pulmonary edema when Athina was just 3 years old. Onassis was then raised by her father and Landhage, who he married in 1990. Athina attended school in Lussy-sur-Morges, Switzerland and took a preparatory course in Brussels, Belgium, then in 2003, she passed her baccalauréat exam. Onassis has a half-brother, Erik, and two half-sisters, Sandrine and Johanna. Her grandfather, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, was one of the richest men in the world; he was married to Jacqueline Kennedy at the time of his death, and she reportedly received $26 million from his estate. Equestrian Career: Athina began riding horses during her childhood, and in 2001, she was the runner-up at an event in Jerez, Spain. She has participated in the Global Champions Tour as a competitive show jumper, and she has also served as a patroness of the competition. She established the Athina Onassis International Horse Show in São Paulo in 2007, and it moved to Rio de Janeiro two years later and to Saint-Tropez in 2014. In 2012, Onassis fell off her horse and suffered a spinal injury, but the following year she competed in the European Show Jumping Championships. She also took part in the 2014 World Championships. Athina and her former husband, Álvaro de Miranda Neto, co-owned AD Sport Horses, a Belgium-based business dedicated to breeding and training horses. Personal Life: Athina began a relationship with Brazilian show jumper/Olympic medalist Álvaro de Miranda Neto in 2003, and she bought an $8.6 million, 10,600 square foot home in São Paulo. The couple married on December 3, 2005, and they legally separated in 2016 after allegations arose that Álvaro was involved with another woman for eight years of their 11-year marriage. Miranda reportedly asked for 11 million euros in the divorce (based on their prenuptial agreement) and “350,000 euros for alimony, payment for their joint ventures, as well as custody of their horses and properties with a total value of 400,000,000 dollars.” The divorce was finalized in late 2017, with Álvaro getting “almost nothing.” During the marriage, Onassis was stepmother to Viviane, Miranda’s daughter with model/actress Cibele Dorsa, and Fernando, Dorsa’s son from a previous relationship. Cibele had agreed to let her children live with Athina and Álvaro so they could have a “very simple and healthy lifestyle.” After Cibele’s fiancé, Gilberto Scarpa, died in an apparent suicide in early 2011, Dorsa posted on social media, “To live without my two children and without the love of my life has wounded my whole self.” Tragically, in March 2011, Cibele jumped to her death from a window of her São Paulo apartment building. Onassis Estate: Athina’s mother, Christina, inherited 55% of the Onassis fortune, and the remaining 45% of the estate (minus Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s portion of $26 million ) was bequeathed to the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation, which was founded in honor of Aristotle’s son, who died of injuries resulting from a plane crash in 1973. Since Christina didn’t fully trust Thierry Roussel, the family arranged for the Onassis estate to be controlled by a board of administrators until Athina was of legal age. Christina appointed Paul Ioannidis, Theodore Gabrielides, Stelio Papadimitriou, and Apostolos Zabelas as trustees, and during Athina’s youth, the board had to approve any expenditures that Roussel made on her behalf. In 1999, a court in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, ruled that the management of Athina’s inheritance be transferred to the Switzerland auditing firm KPMG Fides. Athina took control of the inheritance on her 18th birthday, and after she turned 21, her lawyers tried to have her instated as President of the Onassis Foundation to no avail. The foundation’s then-President, Stelio Papadimitriou, stated, “This is the most prominent foundation in Greece. We are not going to turn it over to someone who has no connection with our culture, our religion, our language, or our shared experiences, and who never went to college or worked a day in her life. There’s nothing we would want more than to have a descendant of Onassis become president of the foundation, but Athina’s qualifications for the job are nil.” According to her stepmother, Gaby Landhage, Athina had once told her that “if she could burn all the Onassis money, she would do it.” Real Estate: In 2014, Onassis paid $12 million for a horse farm in Wellington, Florida, and she sold the 5.62-acre property for $12.75 million in 2017. In 2013, Athina sold the Greek island of Skorpios to Russian billionaire Ekaterina Rybolovleva. Though the exact sale price is unknown, it is rumored to be around $150 million. Aristotle bought Skorpios for 3.5 million drachmas (which is equivalent to around $12,000 today) in 1963, and he is buried on the island, as are Christina and Alexander.