In the glittering world of high society, where fortunes are vast and reputations are carefully curated, few stories have captivated and scandalized like the tumultuous relationship and eventual divorce of Mercedes Bass and oil tycoon Sid Bass. Their initial affair, a whirlwind of clandestine meetings and opulent getaways, sent shockwaves through elite circles. The subsequent marriage cemented Mercedes Bass’s place as a queen of the social scene, but the recent, and equally unexpected, divorce has once again thrust the couple into the spotlight, leaving many to ponder the complexities of love, wealth, and social standing.
The saga began with a seemingly innocuous dinner roll tossed across a crowded ballroom in June 1986. This playful gesture, however, ignited a passionate affair between Mercedes, then married to Ambassador Francis Kellogg, and Sid Bass, who was also married to his first wife, Anne. What ensued was a whirlwind romance conducted in the lavish style befitting their immense wealth. Secret rendezvous at the Carlyle Hotel, private jets whisking them away to Paris, and luxurious suites at the Plaza Athénée became the backdrop for their burgeoning relationship. Financial advisors cooled their heels in hotel lobbies while Sid prioritized Mercedes’s company, and Parisian strolls, intended to be discreet, inevitably ended with encounters with familiar faces from their exclusive world.
Just nine weeks after that fateful bread roll incident, Mercedes Bass, then 41, made a life-altering phone call from her Parisian sanctuary. “Goodbye, darling,” she declared to Ambassador Kellogg, “I’m marrying Sid.” This announcement marked the explosive beginning of a new chapter, one that involved dissolving two marriages and reshaping the social landscape.
On December 10, 1988, following Sid’s divorce from Anne, a society figure in her own right, Sid and Mercedes Bass solidified their union with a lavish $500,000 wedding gala at New York’s Plaza Hotel. The price of Sid’s first divorce settlement with Anne was rumored to be anywhere between $200 million and $500 million, setting the stage for the staggering financial implications that would become a recurring theme in their story.
David Patrick Columbia, founder of NewYorkSocialDiary.com, aptly described their reign: “They were the top.” When questioned about the reasons behind this elevated status, Columbia offered a candid assessment: “I don’t know… I mean, when I say they’re the top, it’s probably because he’s very, very rich.” Indeed, Sid Bass’s immense fortune was an undeniable factor in their social prominence.
Mercedes and Sid Bass initially appeared to be ideally matched. People magazine once characterized Mercedes as “a hearty, vodka-drinking extrovert,” a personality that seemed to draw out a more sociable and animated side of her typically reserved husband. Despite the tumultuous and somewhat scandalous origins of their relationship, which left behind heartbroken spouses and disrupted lives, they cultivated an image of contentment and deep affection that endured for over two decades.
The question then arises: what precipitated the unraveling of this seemingly stable union? Why would a man of Sid Bass’s stature, whose net worth Forbes estimated at $2.1 billion, embark on another costly and highly publicized divorce at the age of 69? Why not simply opt for separate lives, a feasible arrangement given their multiple properties, and avoid the inevitable upheaval? Whispers of infidelity circulated – who, if anyone, was seeking a new romantic chapter?
Those within their social circle offered few concrete explanations. The prevailing logic suggested that Sid, possessing the greater financial leverage, was likely the instigator of the separation. Furthermore, Sid’s apparent desire to shed the trappings of New York society hinted at a deeper motivation. One anecdote recounted his declaration that he “never wants to put on tuxedo pants again,” symbolizing a potential weariness with the high-society lifestyle. Maintaining the marriage, even in name only, would mean Mercedes’s continued association with his name and fortune, her every public appearance carrying his “imprimatur.”
Adding weight to this theory, Columbia revealed a message Sid sent to close friends shortly before the divorce announcement: “I’m not mad at her. I just can’t live with her anymore.” This simple statement, devoid of animosity, suggested a fundamental shift in their dynamic.
Mercedes Kellogg Bass (née Tavacoli Diba) arrived in this world with a pedigree of her own. Born in Iran to a family of affluence and political influence, she reportedly owed her name to her father’s fondness for Mercedes-Benz automobiles, a detail that adds an interesting layer to the “Mercedes Bass” narrative. Educated in Europe, she encountered her first husband, Ambassador Francis Kellogg, while working in Switzerland. Kellogg, a man 27 years her senior and already married, proved to be no obstacle to the ambitious and captivating young Mercedes.
Mercedes followed Ambassador Kellogg to New York, and he soon divorced his wife of 35 years, department-store heiress Fernanda Munn, to marry “the Iranian firecracker” in 1972. Charlotte Hays, author of “The Fortune Hunters: Dazzling Women and the Men They Married,” offered a less-than-flattering portrayal of the young Mercedes at the time, noting she was “heavier than she is now, and, of course, she’s no great beauty.” However, Hays conceded that Mercedes possessed the qualities of “the ultimate geisha.” She diligently catered to Kellogg’s intellectual pursuits, immersing herself in opera to engage him in discussions, showcasing a calculated approach to capturing his attention.
The couple established their life together at the Watergate apartment complex in Washington D.C. Despite concerns among some acquaintances that the Ambassador might not marry her, Mercedes’s unwavering devotion paid off. Kellogg finalized his divorce and married Mercedes, then 28 years old, in 1972.
Their marriage, initially described by Mercedes as blissful – she famously called her husband “my stallion” – eventually encountered challenges. Sources pointed to Ambassador Kellogg’s financial limitations as a primary source of friction. One acquaintance described their Park Avenue apartment as “unmemorable,” suggesting it lacked the opulence Mercedes craved. According to this source, in their social circles, “gold-digging is perfectly acceptable,” implying that Mercedes’s aspirations extended beyond the Ambassador’s means.
Another friend recounted to Hays an anecdote illustrating Mercedes’s growing discontent. When Mercedes admired a $28,000 jewelry set and expressed a desire for it, she allegedly dismissed the idea of asking Kellogg to purchase it, stating he “wasn’t rich enough. ‘I want to be rich,’” she declared. Despite these underlying tensions, to the outside world, the Kelloggs presented an image of marital happiness, mirroring the initial perception of stability in Sid and Anne Bass’s marriage, teenage sweethearts whose union also masked deeper dissatisfactions.
Sid Bass’s lineage was steeped in Texas oil wealth. His father, Perry Bass, co-founded Bass Brothers Enterprises in the 1930s and amassed a vast fortune in the oil industry. Sid, born in 1942, grew up in privilege, and upon his father’s retirement in 1968, the Yale-educated Sid took the helm of Bass Brothers, transforming it into a billion-dollar empire through astute investment strategies.
Three years prior to assuming leadership, Sid married Anne, a woman from a well-respected family. While Sid remained largely indifferent to the social whirlwind, Anne ascended to become a dominant figure in New York society, known as “the ice queen,” both admired and feared for her social maneuvering. Her passions included collecting art and ballet, and she was known for her assertive tactics in navigating social circles, wielding her considerable influence as one of the wealthiest socialites to get her way, even if it meant alienating others. She was not universally liked, described by a former acquaintance as “unapproachable, reserved, quiet.” Her high profile was a source of discomfort for Sid, whose family’s wealth was estimated to be around $3 billion.
Friends observed that Sid was consistently drawn to strong-willed women, often deferring to their preferences. Thus, Anne’s embrace of the high-society lifestyle was accommodated. By the time Mercedes, portrayed as worldly and sophisticated, captured Sid’s attention at that fateful ball, both Sid and Mercedes were, in their own ways, ready for a change. Sid, captivated, hastily scribbled down Mercedes’s phone number before his wife could notice, setting in motion the events that would lead to another societal upheaval.
“Sid-and-Anne remains the highest-profile, most scandalous divorce on Park or Fifth Avenue,” observed one insider. “It changed the way everybody moved socially. Before, wives were considered safe — there was only suspicion of single women on the social circuit.” Mercedes, by “hooking her Bass,” as tabloids sensationalized it, disrupted the established social order.
Despite the scandalous circumstances, Sid Bass retained the respect of New York society. He was widely regarded as a “decent man,” and, of course, his immense wealth played a role in maintaining his standing. As one observer succinctly put it, “Nobody’s got the kind of money Sid has.”
Mercedes seamlessly transitioned into Sid’s rarified world. Any bitterness over the affair was largely confined to those close to Ambassador Kellogg. One long-time acquaintance suggested that “If Sid hadn’t married her, the ambassador probably would’ve taken her back,” implying Mercedes was aware of her options and calculated her moves. “The gifts she got from Sid during the affair were worth more than the ambassador,” this person claimed. “It was cruel in so many ways, because he was bereft. But for her, the rush was the billions and the freedom.” Another friend recounted visiting the Ambassador’s home after Mercedes left, noting, “He still had pictures of her everywhere.”
Mercedes embraced her role as Mrs. Sid Bass with enthusiasm, acquiring homes in New York and Fort Worth valued at over $75 million. In Texas, she oversaw the transformation of their property, even relocating a house she deemed undesirable to another part of town to house single mothers. Inspired by Donald Trump’s maximalist aesthetic, she lavishly decorated their Fifth Avenue apartment with gold leaf accents. The couple also added an Aspen residence to their portfolio.
Mercedes swiftly distanced herself from friends associated with her previous marriage, and despite persistent rumors, including one suggesting she had worked as a courtesan in Paris, she ascended the social ladder, associating with figures like Oscar and Annette de la Renta and Hubert de Givenchy. “Sid’s sphere of social connections expanded with her,” noted Columbia. “She brought a kind of excitement.”
While Sid had children from his first marriage, he and Mercedes did not have any together. Mercedes indulged in shopping, travel, philanthropy (notably a record $25 million donation to the Metropolitan Opera in 2006), and hosting elaborate social events. In the 1980s, she reportedly hosted lunches twice a week. Her social engagements were often intertwined with her philanthropic endeavors, such as wearing a “Save Claus” T-shirt at a birthday party for Reinaldo Herrera in support of Claus von Bulow, who was then on trial.
However, Sid Bass, despite his wealth, was described by Columbia as “kind of an average guy.” His tolerance for the high-society pursuits championed by Mercedes waned over time. “Mercedes is a big opera fan, and he got sick of going to the opera,” Columbia explained. “The key here is the age — he’s nearly 70. To him, it’s a luxury that he has time to pursue what’s interesting to him.”
In stark contrast to his first, highly contentious divorce, the separation from Mercedes Bass was remarkably amicable. Just a week before the public announcement, Sid deliberately posed for photographs with Mercedes at the opera – a symbolic gesture given his aversion to both opera and being photographed. While the specifics of the settlement remain undisclosed, it is widely anticipated that Mercedes will receive at least as much as, if not more than, Anne, and without the added sting of being replaced by another woman.
“Their lives will go on,” remarked the old acquaintance. “Sid won’t be mean to her. He always pays his bills. He’ll make sure he’ll keep her in the life he brought her into.” Crucially, Mercedes Bass is expected to maintain her position as a prominent figure in New York society, a status solidified by decades of philanthropy. The Basses have been generous benefactors to institutions like Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Mercedes serves on the boards of both Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera. The lingering question, posed by her old acquaintance, remains: “Will Mercedes be as generous with her money as she was with Sid’s?”
Sid Bass at a glance:
* Forbes puts his net worth at $2 billion
* Inherited Bass Enterprises Production family oil company from his father
* In 2005 sold one division of the company for $1.6 billion to Southern Union
* Was a major shareholder in Disney until 2001, when he sold 135 million shares worth $2.2 billion
* Has donated $100,000 to Rick Perry’s campaign
* Donated $20 million to alma mater Yale in 1990 and another $20 million in 2000
* In 2006 helped save the Metropolitan Opera with a record donation of $25 million
* Splits his time between a New York penthouse and this mansion in Fort Worth, Texas. Appraised at more than $16 million, it has an 18,270-square-foot home and acres of formal gardens.
