- Eric Schmidt invested $100 million in Steel Perlot, a company led by Michelle Ritter, Forbes reported.
- Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, has been romantically linked to Ritter.
- He is a “very, very active chairman,” Ritter, the company’s CEO, told Forbes of Schmidt.
The former Google CEO Eric Schmidt — who’s been married for over 40 years — invested $100 million in a company led by Michelle Ritter, who is said to be his girlfriend, Forbes reported.
Steel Perlot, Ritter’s company, is a startup incubator. Schmidt, who is 68 years old and worth $19 billion, per Forbes, serves as its chairman, according to his bio on the company’s website, which seems to be pulled straight from Wikipedia — annotations, and all.
He is a “very, very active chairman,” Ritter, the company’s 29-year-old CEO, told Forbes of Schmidt. “We have a very typical CEO-chairman relationship.”
Schmidt and Ritter declined to discuss the status of their relationship with Forbes, and they did not respond to Insider’s requests for comment.
Ritter told Forbes she met Schmidt through a connection at Columbia Law School. She was romantically linked to Schmidt in 2021 when the New York Post ran a story saying they were spotted together in New Mexico watching a Virgin Galactic launch.
Ritter told Forbes that Steel Perlot has a number of backers, including institutional investors and wealthy individuals, and manages $450 million, but declined to identify the investors. She later clarified to Forbes that the company had only a “preliminary [letter of intent]” from institutional investors.
As of today, Steel Perlot has invested at least $20 million, Forbes reported. Its portfolio includes companies in the AI, crypto, and payment processing space, according to Pitchbook.
Steel Perlot appeared to need help paying bills in January, according to the Forbes report. The company emailed Hillspire LLC, Schmidt’s family office, and requested nearly $2.5 million to cover payroll and credit card debts, Forbes reported, citing a copy of the email.
Schmidt, who shares two daughters with his wife Wendy, has been rumored to date other women — though he has never confirmed it.
“I don’t think that is an appropriate question. We don’t comment on that, rumors,” he once told The New York Times.
Steel Perlot, Schmidt Futures, and The Schmidt Family Foundation, did not respond to Insider’s requests for comment before publication.
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