Diane Von Furstenberg And Barry Diller: A Tale Of Love, Fashion, And Media Success

Diane von Furstenberg is a legendary fashion designer who brought the world the wrap dress and amassed a net worth of $1.2 billion. Barry Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp, as well as a media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. A self-made man, Barry Diller started his career at the very bottom of the social scale working in the mail-room of casting agencies in Hollywood on his way to a net worth of $2.3 billion. Together, von Furstenberg and Diller are one of the richest American couples, with a combined net worth of $3.5 billion.

Diane von Furstenberg first became a household name originally due to her first husband. She was married to German Prince Egon von Furstenberg. They married in 1969, separated in 1973, and divorced in 1983. She kept his name after the separation and divorce. She began designing women's clothing in 1970 and introduced the now iconic knitted jersey wrap dress in 1974. The dress has had an enormous influence on women's fashion and is in the collection of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

After the success of the wrap dress, Furstenberg was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 1976. The accompanying article declared her "the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel." She launched a cosmetic line and her first fragrance, "Tatiana," named after her daughter. The New York Times reported that by 1979, the annual retail sales for the company were $150 million. She has been the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) since 2006.

Barry Diller dropped out of UCLA three weeks into his freshman year and got a job in the mailroom of the William Morris Agency. He spent his time there reading the archives and learning the entire history of the entertainment industry. He was hired to be the west coast head of ABC's assistant in 1964 just before that man, Elton Rule, was promoted to President of the network. Diller went with him to New York City and was soon in charge of negotiating broadcast rights for feature films.

In 1965, the 23-year-old Diller was promoted to Vice President of Development. He created the ABC Movie of the week, which was the original made-for-television movie. Diller was the Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures from 1974 to 1984. From October 1984 to April 1992 was Chairman and CEO of Fox Inc. where he greenlit Married…with Children and The Simpsons. Diller went on to create USA Broadcasting by purchasing the Home Shopping Network and the USA Network.

Until December 2, 2010, he was the chairman of Expedia and Chairman of IAC, the parent company of Match.com, Tinder, Bumble, and a number of other internet and digital properties.

Diane and Barry met in 1974 at a party she was throwing for talent agent Sue Mengers. Sue brought Barry along to the party. The two hit it off immediately and became great friends. They had no idea at the time that they'd fall in love. They had a passionate early romance, lived together for five years and then Diane moved out. They remained friends but Diane dated other men.

In 2001, 27 years after they met and a week before Diller's 59^th birthday, Diane was looking for a present to get Barry. She was on the phone with him and she said: "Why don't we get married on your birthday?" They got married at City Hall a week later. The bride wore a cream colored jersey dress she made for herself with a fur vest. Barry gave her 26 diamond wedding bands to represent the 26 years they were not married.