Cosmetics magnate Ron Perelman might be famous for his business sense, but the billionaire's string of personal battles has also been making headlines for more than two decades.

Currently on his fourth marriage — to actress Ellen Barkin — Perelman's three divorces, custody battles and child-support settlements have garnered as much media attention as his aggressive takeovers of some of the world's most recognizable brand-name companies.

The man who rarely grants interviews has made a rock-star image of himself by marrying an actress, a political fund-raiser, a TV personality and a bank heiress.

Fellow investors have described his approach to business as obsessive.

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Perelman's aggressive efforts to control Gillette and his oversized refinancing deals at Marvel Entertainment solidified his image as a ruthless businessman, as well as his acquisition and reorganization of Revlon in the 1980s.

Outside of the financial world, however, his marriages and divorces are what keep him in the media.

His third marriage, to Democratic fund-raiser Patricia Duff, ended in a bitter and public custody battle for their daughter Caleigh. The two split after a public fight at the 1996 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.

The proceedings exposed all the details Perelman had fought so hard to keep secret. At issue were child-support payments, the remodeling of Caleigh's room, and who would get custody of the child.

The New York Times described Caleigh's rooms as the Taj Mahal of bedrooms for 4-year-olds. An interior decorator told the court during custody hearings that the remodeling would cost $130,000.

When Perelman sought to keep the custody battle closed to the public, Duff asked the judge to keep it open. The judge ruled in Duff's favor.

In 2000, during the court battle Duff testified Perelman was violent with her on 10 occasions. Perelman claimed it was Duff who had been violent.

Duff sought $132,000 in monthly child support payments for 14 years. Perelman was awarded custody of the girl, but few other details are known because the case was sealed.

His current marriage to Barkin, whom he married in 2000, almost ended in divorce in 2004 when they separated. The pair soon reconciled.

Perelman earned his earliest public image when he married Claudia Cohen, an entertainment reporter for a New York TV station and alter a gossip columnist, at the Palladium club, then a chic hangout in New York.

His first marriage, to bank heiress Faith Golding, ended quietly in 1983 with a $3.8 million cash settlement.