Widow of Herbalife Founder Awarded $20 Million

The widow of Herbalife founder Mark Hughes will receive $20 million as part of a settlement.

Darcy LaPier Hughes, a 35-year-old former Hawaiian Tropic model, will receive $19 million from Hughes’ estate and another $1 million when she moves out of the couple’s 2.5-acre estate in Beverly Hills, Superior Court Judge Gary Klausner ruled Wednesday.

Hughes died last May at age 44 from an accidental combination of the antidepressant doxepin and alcohol, according to toxicology tests. He founded Herbalife International Inc. in 1980 and turned the company into a leading supplier of beauty and nutritional supplements with nearly $1.7 billion in annual sales.

LaPier Hughes was married twice before she wed Hughes on Valentine’s Day 1999. Her previous husbands were film action star Jean-Claude Van Damme and Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice.

Hughes excluded his wife from his last will and intended her to be helped financially through the Mark Hughes Family Trust, according to court documents. LaPier Hughes will probably receive most of the settlement over the next two days.

Attorneys for LaPier Hughes and Hughes’ estate did not immediately return calls seeking comment late Wednesday.