Child support battle: Linda Evangelista’s son needs $46000 a month

French business tycoon Francois-Henri Pinault and Linda Evangelista met in court on the second day of a child support trial in Manhattan. She wants him to pay nearly $50,000 a month for child-rearing expenses, which includes armed bodyguards and a full-time nanny, among other costs. Pinault, husband of actress Salma Hayek, has called Evangelista's claim of spending as much as $46,000 a month in child support unreasonable.

Linda dated Francois-Henri in late 2006 to early 2007 and became pregnant after that. She wants that her son, Augustin, be treated just like Francois-Henri's other child, Valentina, his 4-year old daughter with Salma Hayek. Linda’s lawyer claimed that Valentina has a $12 million Los Angeles home in a trust.

Pinault testified in court that the model contacted him regarding a child support request in 2007 and he found it "unreasonable." He presented her with another offer but she declined. In 2010, she sued him for support.

Evangelista hadn't legally announced Pinault as the father of her child, Augustin, called Augie, until last year, when she went to court against the billionaire. Meanwhile, he and Hayek had a daughter, Valentina, and they later got married.

It was also unveiled that Linda did not begin any child support legalities when Salma and Francois-Henri were worried that Valentina would be born with Down syndrome.

“We were told the baby had Down syndrome until late May 2007," Francois-Henri said, according to a report on NYDailyNews.com. “I asked Linda to delay the legal recognition process of son Augustin until after the birth of Valentina.”

Pinault also acknowledged that Linda is a perfect mother to their son and he further said that he really appreciate Linda for waiting till Valentina’s birth.

Later in the trial hearing, Linda explained about her job and her worth as a super model. Her testimony indicated that she is not in that much demand as she used to be previously. Her lawyer, William Beslow, said that she has willingly paid all the boy's expenses in his early years of life but her income was badly affected last year when her contract with L'Oreal ended.

Pinault is the chief executive of PPR, a multinational company which owns Gucci, Yves St. Laurent and other luxury brands. He makes about $4 million a year from all of his family's business. Evangelista's lawyer pointed out that Pinault, who has two other kids from a previous marriage, is worth more than $3 billion.