Robert De Niro is grieving what has happened to him because of the COVID-19.  The actor said he's running out of money, and next to COVID, it's not something one would like to experience.

The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a massive blow to the De Niro's finances. He revealed this himself in court after his estranged demanded for an emergency order to make her monthly American Express Card credit limit $100,000 from the previous $50,000.

Through a Skype call, the renowned actor appeared for his divorce case with his ex, Grace Hightower. According to Grace's lawyer, Dr. Niro had unfairly cut her monthly AmEx allowance. It was originally $100,000 but now lowered by half. She said this is not enough. She added that she and their children had been banned from the residence De Niro had been quarantining in. 

The lawyer for De Niro, Caroline Krauss, however claimed that this is but natural because the actor has lost big because of the pandemic. Both Nobu and Greenwich Hotel, have temporarily stopped operating, which affected him greatly since he has huge stakes in both. 

The lawyer even detailed how much De Niro lost. Nobu lost $3 million in April and then another massive $1.87 million in May. He had to even pay out $500,000 in a capital call to his investors. Unfortunately, he had to borrow this amount too, because he just is not liquid at present.

Krauss also asserted that De Niro truly does not have such a massive obligation towards his wife too. According to her, based on their 2004 prenuptial agreement, the actor only had to pay his ex-wife Hightower, $1 million a year. This, as long as his income is at least $15 million a year. Naturally, if his income dips, his payments to Hightower also declines correspondingly. 

De Niro's camp continued to detail how the pandemic totaled the actor's finances. According to his legal team, he would not even make half of the $15 million this year. He'd be very lucky if he even makes barely half. 

Based on this transparency on how COVID-19 ravished the actor and businessman's finances, the case was ruled in his favor. Justice Matthew Cooper ruled that De Niro can continue to just give the $50,000 allowance and not the $100,000 requested. However, the actor was ordered to pay $75,000 to locate a summer house near his residence.

It emerged from the hearing that Nobu took 14 loans from the US small business relief program. Essentially, it meant the business went into $28 million debt, based on the government filings. 

De Niro and his wife, Hightower broke up in 2018. They were together for 21 years, making the split a shock.

The earnings he had from Netflix's "The Irishman" has already been mostly paid out in the past. He is entitled to just around $2.5 million in 2020 and 2021. In addition, his supposed movie project for the year, scheduled already to be filmed this summer, was placed on hold. The pandemic truly did a number on him. 

Tags: Robert de Niro COVID-19 the irishman