Oscar Perelman, the teenage son of billionaire investor Ronald Perelman and psychiatrist Dr. Anna Chapman, died Tuesday night on the island of St. Martin. He was 15 years old.
The boy's death is believed to be connected to a long-standing medical issue, Page Six reported. A representative for Perelman declined to comment. No further details about the circumstances or the specific medical condition were disclosed.
Ronald Perelman, 83, built his fortune through a series of high-profile investments, perhaps most notably in hair care brand Revlon, and owns the holding company MacAndrews & Forbes. His name adorns institutions across New York's medical landscape, including NYU Langone Health's Center for Emergency Services, NYU Langone's Department of Dermatology, the Heart Institute at NewYork-Presbyterian, and the Center for Reproductive Medicine at Weill Cornell.
Perelman and Chapman married in 2010. That same year, they announced they were welcoming Oscar via a surrogate.
Chapman spoke at the time about the road to parenthood.
"We had some trials and tribulations getting to this point, and we are both thrilled."
The couple welcomed a second child through a surrogate in 2012. Oscar was Perelman's seventh child; the second was his eighth.
Perelman's family spans five marriages and decades of New York social life. He was married to Faith Golding from 1965 to 1984, and the two had four children: Steven, Josh, Hope, and Debra. His second marriage, to the late Page Six editor Claudia Cohen, lasted from 1985 to 1994. They had a daughter, Samantha. Cohen died in 2007 at age 56.
Perelman wed his third wife, Patricia Duff, in 1995. They have a daughter, Caleigh. He was also married to actress Ellen Barkin from 2000 to 2006.
Key questions about Oscar Perelman's death remain unanswered. The specific medical condition described only as a "long-standing medical issue" has not been identified publicly. The exact location on St. Martin where the teenager passed away was not disclosed. And the source basis for the belief that his death was connected to that medical issue has not been explained.
No official statement from the family has been released beyond the representative's decision not to comment.
Whatever the public profile of the Perelman name, this is the loss of a child, fifteen years old, with a life barely started. Wealth insulates against many things. It does not insulate against this.
