Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Hit with Lawsuit From Ex-Paramour Alledging Digital Stalking, ‘Toxic Masculinity,’ and Abuse

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The Settlement That Wasn’t

The timeline reads like a thriller. In early December 2024, Ritter and Schmidt struck a “written settlement agreement” requiring “substantial payments” from the billionaire to his former paramour. The details remain under seal, according to a September 8 filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

But just one week later, on December 11, Ritter filed an explosive domestic violence restraining order against Schmidt. That TRO included allegations that the tech tycoon attempted to force her to sign “a gag order on any sexual assault or harassment allegations and sign a knowingly false declaration that any such allegations never happened.”

Three weeks later, on January 6, 2025, Ritter withdrew the restraining order after the parties apparently reached yet another agreement.

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Schmidt’s attorneys haven’t taken this lying down. In an 82-page response filed October 8, 2024, his legal team called Ritter’s claims “demonstrably false” and a “blatant abuse of the judicial system.” Much of that response remains redacted.

The latest lawsuit pulls back the curtain on Schmidt’s personal life, which reportedly includes an open marriage with his wife of 45 years, Wendy Schmidt. According to the New York Post, Schmidt’s romantic portfolio has included “fashion designers, socialites, PR executives, and concert pianists.” In 2019, he gifted then-girlfriend Alexandra Duisberg—32 years his junior—a massive 10-carat pink sapphire ring that sparked engagement rumors.

But the Ritter relationship appears to have ended far less amicably than his previous dalliances.

Schmidt’s net worth is estimated at $44.8 billion by Bloomberg. Steel Perlot received a reported $100 million investment from Schmidt, according to sources close to the situation.