Legendary saxophonist Kenny G has scored a victory in his bitter battle with his ex-wife over the Malibu estate he rents to Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sanchez for $600,000 a month.
Lyndie Benson, 58, whose divorce from musician was finalized in 2013, wants to force Kenny to sell the seaside estate so she can share in the profits, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The musician – real name Kenneth Gorelick – bought the house in 1998 for $12 million and bought the house next door in 2000 for $3 million. Today it is worth at least double that amount.
Last year, Kenny failed to get his ex’s $40,000-a-month spousal support cut after an LA judge was told he rented the palatial property to Amazon boss Jeff Bezos for an eye-watering $600,000 a month.
Kenny, 67, and Benson have since feuded over his mega-mansion — he says he has no obligation to sell and can rent out as he pleases, adding in the lawsuits that Benson had never discussed the house until he tried to save her money.
Kenny G was granted a protective order on his Malibu estate after ex-wife Lyndie Benson accused him of violating the terms of their divorce agreement by not selling the house. The legendary saxophonist – who was seen last week with his girlfriend Anaisia Thuy Nguyen (right) – laughed off the idea of a reconciliation between the two exes when contacted by DailyMail.com
During a lawsuit seeking to modify his spousal support payments, the musician revealed that he earned $600,000 a month in rental income alone after he began renting his home to the famous couple in April 2022.
Bezos and Sanchez (pictured in Milan on January 13) are busy building their own palatial mansion nearby, but are living on the Malibu property in the meantime.
Now, in a Jan. 4 ruling, he has been granted a protective order banning his ex-wife from engaging in tricky legal maneuvers over the house and has been told he doesn’t have to hand over a copy of the lease agreement with Bezos.
The ruling says the musician can ignore all but two of Benson’s 38 requests for information about the house and its lease – limiting himself to one about any improvements made to the mega-mansion and another about whether there were actual offers have been made to purchase the house. was transferred to him via an estate agent.
As a result, the musical maestro – who has since moved on with new girlfriend Anaisia Thuy Nguyen – was relaxed and joked about his legal battle when DailyMail.com caught up with him last week and asked about the divorce, saying: ‘Oh That was a long time past. I never think about it.’
The father-of-two then burst out laughing when a rapprochement with Benson was suggested, telling DailyMail.com: ‘That makes me laugh!’
Just a few weeks after the verdict was handed down, the composer made a public appearance with Nguyen at the Aviation Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where the two lovebirds were all smiles.
Multiple Grammy winner Kenny divorced Benson in 2013 and agreed to a settlement that will require him to pay $40,000 a month in spousal support.
In 2021, he filed a request to reduce the amount. He claimed his income had dropped dramatically since 2018 and he could no longer afford it.
But in March last year, his request to reduce his spousal support bill was denied – after it was revealed he was renting out his Malibu estate for $600,000 a month to tech mogul Bezos, who is currently renovating his own $165 million Malibu mansion.
Benson then claimed she was shortchanged and is now trying to force him to sell the property that was awarded solely to him during their divorce.
After the saxophonist revealed in court documents last year that he was renting the house, Benson “made several requests” for Kenny to “turn over all emails and documentation related to the lease” – which he denied.
Meanwhile, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, 59, is currently building his own mansion nearby, after paying $175 million for the nearly 10-acre estate — previously owned by former Warner Bros. president Jack Warner — in 2020.
In court, Benson said the identities of the tenant — Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sanchez — are public knowledge
Using a 1924 judgment as precedent, she says she is owed 25 percent of the home’s sale price over $40 million and says he should be forced to sell the house during her lifetime.
His team, led by successful divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, whose previous clients include Kevin Costner, says he is under no obligation to sell – or give his ex-wife any share of the rental proceeds.
They also say Benson is engaging in vexatious litigation by filing multiple discovery requests, and that a confidentiality clause in the lease prevents him from transferring them.
In court, Benson said the identities of the tenant — Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sanchez — are public knowledge.
But her arguments failed to impress the Honorable Scott J. Nord, whose Jan. 4 ruling denied nearly all of her requests for discovery and her desire for financial sanctions against the musician.
The saxophonist is the best-selling instrumental artist ever and last month released his twentieth studio album: Innocence.
Speaking about the new release, he told DailyMail.com: ‘It’s basically an album of lullabies, which is a bit cliché for my music.’
Kenny G, wife Lyndie Benson and sons Max and Noah
The legendary musician has 11 platinum albums and eight multi-platinum releases to his name, with more than 75 million records sold
Nevertheless, he spent most of the past month on the road promoting the new release, with appearances in Munhall, Pennsylvania, Englewood, New Jersey, and Wheeling, West Virginia, among others.
The 67-year-old’s previous efforts include 11 platinum albums and eight multi-platinum releases, with more than 75 million records sold.
In addition to collaborations with Katy Perry and Kanye West, his music appeared on the soundtrack of The SpongeBob Movie, and in 2021 HBO made a documentary about his life and music, Listening to Kenny G.
The following year, he appeared in a Super Bowl ad for the beer Busch Light – his second Super Bowl ad, after appearing for Audi in 2011.
In 2022, he told Forbes that he didn’t mind being mocked because he was everywhere.
“If I’m the butt of the joke, if it’s funny, I love it,” he says, recalling how the 1992 comedy film Wayne’s World featured a joke about a dentist who traded Novocain for his music.
He also referenced a South Park episode that mentioned how his music “makes everyone shit their pants,” and how Saturday Night Live made fun of him for a duet he did with Frank Sinatra.
“It doesn’t bother me because it’s really funny.”