Ron Perelman’s Empire Loses Crown Jewel as Revlon Goes Bankrupt (1)

The rise and fall of Ronald Perelman’s empire has been a staple of New York business and tabloid reporting since the go-go 1980s.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, the billionaire financier’s fire sales of flashy assets became the latest fascination: two paintings from Miro and Matisse worth $37.3 million, his Gulfstream 650 and his stake in Humvee-maker AM General, to name a few.

But the bankruptcy of his Revlon Inc., filed Wednesday in New York, is the most significant blow yet to Perelman, 79, who was once touted as America’s richest man. It’s not just the business most closely ...