Madeleine A. Pickens

Madeleine A. Pickens (born March 5, 1947 in Kirkuk, Iraq) is an Iraqi woman best known for being the former wife of American billionaires Allen E. Paulson for two years, and later T. Boone Pickens.

Pickens was married to Allen Paulson from 1988 until his death in 2000. She battled over his estate until 2007.

In 2005, she married Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens. They divorced in 2012.

She owns the Del Mar Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California.

Biography

Earlier in her life, Pickens modeled and worked as a flight attendant for Pan American Airlines before going into business for herself, providing cabin service crews for corporate jets and special charter flights. She moved to Marina del Rey, California, United States in the 1970s.

She has a daughter, Dominique Richter, born 1980.

She is also a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. She owns the National Wild Horse Foundation.

In 1988, she married Gulfstream Aerospace founder, Allen E. Paulson. Paulson introduced her to Thoroughbred horse racing. While her husband owned several superstar horses such as U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Cigar, Pickens owned show jumping horses and thoroughbreds competing in flat racing. She notably won the 1992 Breeders' Cup Turf with Fraise, the 1997 Prix Foy with Yokohama at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, and the 2005 Santa Anita Handicap with Rock Hard Ten. A friend of Jenny Craig, the two owned Rock and Roll who won the 1998 Pennsylvania Derby and ran in the Kentucky Derby. Pickens also raced Dominique's Joy, named for her daughter.