New York’s former “hottest bachelor” Eric Schmidt has been spotted back with his wife Wendy — after he plowed $100 million into his much younger girlfriend’s tech startup. The ex-CEO Google and his longtime spouse — who reportedly enjoy an open relationship — rubbed elbows with fellow billionaires and celebrities at a 60th birthday bash for Obama White House interior designer Michael S. Smith on Saturday.
The pair wore giant smiles as they exited the party, with Wendy — sporting a vintage baby blue Chanel dress — seen tenderly placing a hand on Schmidt’s back as they piled into their car, photographs published by the Daily Mail show. The outing was the first time that the Schmidts have been spotted in public together since 2019. It comes after Schmidt, 69, became financially entangled with 30-year-old girlfriend Michelle Ritter, committing a notable slice of his $20 billion fortune to Steel Perlot, Forbes reported .
Ritter — a Columbia law grad — launched the startup accelerator the same year the two became romantically linked. Ritter told Forbes in October 2023 Schmidt took on the role as a “very, very active chairman” in exchange for the funds, emphasizing that they “have a very typical CEO-chairman relationship.” It’s believed to be the first time the tech mogul has publicly mixed business and pleasure.
But Ritter and Schmidt haven’t been seen together publicly since April 2023, when they hit a Beverly Hills house party whose guest list .