How Billy Joel Really Lost So Much Of His Money

When Billy Joel was at the height of his fame, he was also struggling financially. The "Piano Man" artist did some digging into his finances and found that his longtime manager, Frank Weber, had been defrauding him. In September 1989, Joel sued him for $90 million. The suit sought $30 million in compensatory damages for funds that the singer believed had been misallocated over the years, as well as $60 million in punitive damages. That only told half the story, as the tragic truth for Joel was not only had his manager defrauded him, but the man was also a family member. Frank was the brother of Joel's first wife, Elizabeth Weber, and even though the "Movin' Out" artist had divorced her in 1982, his former brother-in-law stayed on as his manager until 1989.

The lawsuit filed against Frank claimed he had used Joel's funds for various horse-breeding and real estate partnerships, double-billed the singer for services, and created fraudulent financial statements. Those were just a few of the allegations Joel levied against a man he once considered a close friend. "He had such deep trust in Weber that he named him godfather of his daughter," Joel's lawyer, Leonard Marks, said at the time, per UPI. The two eventually reached an undisclosed settlement after Frank filed for bankruptcy.

A few years later, the "New York State of Mind" singer discussed how being defrauded added to his musical legacy. "For a long time, I was overly sensitive to this accusation that I was a hitmaker-meister just grinding it out for the money," he told The Washington Post in October 1993. "So I proved I wasn't doing it for the money because I didn't know nothing about my money," he added. It wasn't until Joel married Christie Brinkley that he discovered his money troubles.

Billy Joel became intertwined with his former manager Frank Weber when he married Elizabeth Weber. The former couple was married from 1973 until 1982, and it was at the end of their marriage that the "Vienna" singer became suspicious of his soon-to-be ex. While their marriage was on the outs, he had a devastating motorcycle accident that damaged his hands. Joel was visited in the hospital by Elizabeth, who brought papers for him to sign over his assets. "I may have acted like an idiot a time or two, but I'm not a complete idiot. That really killed it right there and then," he said in the book "Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography" (via Page Six).

After their breakup, Joel went on to marry Christie Brinkley in 1985. Several years into their marriage, it was the model who pointed out to Joel that he was being bamboozled by his manager. She started noticing that Frank was purchasing horses and property with her husband's earnings. "I said to Billy, 'Frank Weber's ripping you off.' And he did not want to hear that," Brinkley recalled in the 2025 documentary "Billy Joel: And So It Goes, Brinkley" (via People). "When I found out that my money was pretty well-spent, I was furious. I realized I gotta start all over again," Joel said in the doc. "I gotta go right back to writing new songs, recording new songs and go out on the road and try to make that money back," he added.

Unfortunately, constantly touring caused a strain on their marriage, and Joel believed that contributed to his eventual divorce from Brinkley. The couple called it quits in 1994, about five years after he sued his one-time manager.