'We all knew': Late owner of Scholastic's decision to leave $1.2 BILLION Harry Potter publisher to his lover was 'no surprise' to colleagues who said she was respected in the company and they were 'very open' about their relationship
Staff at a publishing giant whose owner unexpectedly left his $1.2billion empire to a worker he was in a relationship with said they 'all knew' about the fling.
M Richard 'Dick' Robinson Jr's long-term relationship with staffer Iole Lucchese was an open secret among staff at Scholastic - which has now been passed onto Lucchese, who is Scholastic's chief strategy officer.
A source told People magazine: 'We all knew,' the source added, especially since Lucchese - who is Scholastic's chair of the board, executive vice president and president of Scholastic Entertainment - was respected in the office because she worked there for 30 years and had Robinson's ear.
inherited all his personal possessions, which was unpredicted to Robinson's family but 'no surprise' to company employees.
The owner of $1.2billion Scholastic Corp M Richard 'Dick' Robinson Jr died suddenly at age 84 and left the company to Iole Lucchese , a worker he was in a relationship with
However, Robinson's family members - including his siblings, ex-wife Helen Benham and sons John Benham 'Ben' Robinson, 34, and Maurice 'Reece' Robinson, 25 - thought the longtime romantic relationship ended years ago.
Family members were reportedly unhappy about the terms of the 2018 will that outlined the succession plan, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ben said that the will's contents 'served as salt in an open wound,' while younger son Reece, 25, agreed that it was 'unexpected and shocking'.
Before his sudden death Robinson became much closer to his ex-wife and sons. Reece said: 'You might think from the will that he didn't see his sons. That's not true. For the last two years, I saw him multiple times a week.'
Lucchese also inherited all his personal possessions, which was unpredicted to Robinson's family but 'no surprise' to company employees
Helen had also worked at Scholastic for more than 30 years and at one point served on the board. She told The Wall Street Journal that she and Robinson had grown close again after their 2003 divorce.
Robinson's family members - including his siblings, ex-wife Helen Benham and sons John Benham 'Ben' Robinson, 34, and Maurice 'Reece' Robinson , 25 - thought the longtime romantic relationship ended years ago
'I lived and breathed Scholastic while also raising our two children,' she said. 'Dick told me on more than one occasion, "You care more about Scholastic than I do."
In response to Robinson's will Helen added: 'I was shocked and we were not expecting this.'
Family members told the Wall Street Journal that they're reviewing their legal options.
Robison said in his 2018 will that Lucchese, who has been with the company for more than three decades, is 'my partner and closest friend'.
Scholastic Corp published some of most-well known titles like Harry Potter, Clifford, Magic Schoolbus and Captain Underpants, among others.
Robinson's death stunned everyone. Although he was 84, he was said to be in good shape.
The company issued this statement afterward: 'We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Dick Robinson.'
Richard Robinson, chairman, president and CEO of Scholastic, rear, holds the first signed US edition of the book 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' during its unveiling in New York, Friday July 15, 2005
Maurice Robinson, 86, founder and chairman of Scholastic Magazines Inc pictured with his son Richard Robinson Jr, the firm's president and chief executive officer
'Dick was a true visionary in the world of children's books and an unrelenting advocate for children's literacy and education with a remarkable passion his entire life. The Company's directors and employees, as well as the many educators, parents and students whose lives he touched, mourn his loss.'
He left behind two sons - Maurice 'Reece' Robinson, 25, and John Benham 'Ben' Robinson, 34 - his ex-wife and mother of his boys Helen Benham, and siblings: Sue Robinson Morrill, Barbara Robinson Buckland, Florence Robinson Ford and William Robinson.
Reece Robinson, who's done documentary work, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that it was 'unexpected and shocking.'
J.K. Rowling and Richard Robinson attend HBO's 'Finding The Way Home' World Premiere at Hudson Yards on December 11, 2019
'What I want most is an amicable outcome,' Ben Robinson, who operates a sawmill and workshop that produces lumber, flooring and furniture from trees in Martha's Vineyard and lives off the land work, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
He told the paper that he never met Lucchese until they spoke about his dad's estate last week and said this was 'like salt in an open wound.'
'We expect to have a collaborative approach with the estate,' he said without elaborating.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Robinson and his ex-wife Benham became good friends again during the pandemic.
Robinson and Benham met at the company after she started worked in the art department in 1974, but they didn't date until the 1980s, the Wall Street Journal reported.
They married in 1986, had their two sons together and finally split in 2003. That's the year she also left the company.
They rekindled their friendship during pandemic, when she said her ex-husband had been worked 12-hour days by himself in the company's NYC headquarters.
'His only breaks were weekends on the Island (Martha's Vineyard), which he called paradise,' according to his obituary.
He seemed to be reconnecting with his ex-wife and his kids.
He was 'was spending all of his time not working with us. Not only weekends but regular nights with us in Manhattan. He was coming back to the family,' his obituary read.
'While he had no plans to leave Scholastic, he expressed a strong desire to work less and spend more time with his family on the Vineyard, where he was most at ease and happiest.'
While she declined to talk about Lucchese, she told the Wall Street Journal, 'I was shocked and we were not expecting this.'
Scholastic president and CEO Richard Robinson speaks onstage during the 2016 Eagle Academy Foundation Fundraising Breakfast at Gotham Hall on April 29, 2016 in New York City
Mary Sue Robinson Morrill, one of Mr. Robinson's sisters, said in a written statement that she and her siblings agree 'that our first goal is the continuation of the mission and legacy of Scholastic, the vision and brilliant lifework of both our father and our brother Dick, and we are confident that the new management of the company is fully committed to this goal.'
William Robinson, Richard Robinson's younger brother, said in an interview that his brother and father wanted to keep Scholastic independent.
Scholastic Corp. publishes popular children's books like Clifford The Big Red Dog and Magic School Bus
'Our family value was we'd rather not have the financial benefit that we might get from a sale if it means the company won't be in the future what it was,' he told The Wall Street Journal .
'Everybody knows Scholastic and has a good feeling about it and it does good things for teachers. It's more than just a business for us.'
Meanwhile, the woman who's heading the company now has been there since 1991, when she became an associate editor in book clubs and moved up the ranks until se was named chief strategy officer in 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Two years later she became sole president of Scholastic Canada and in 2018 she added the title of president of Scholastic Entertainment.
She's a Canadian with a home in Ontario and a permanent US resident, according to an affidavit filed in New York Surrogate's Court.
Former staffers told the Wall Street Journal that she and Robinson had 'sweet' and 'contentious' moments, where the battled in meetings about the direction of the company.
Former staffers said she wanted to expand the company.
Despite the public bouts, people who knew them say Robinson relied on her and she remained part of his inner circle, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The company declined comment.