Whether or not Russell Simmons left Kimora for an even younger model, is not the issue, here. When I heard the news of the split after 7 years of marriage, I didn’t give a rip about what happened to whom and when, I wanted to know who was getting what. The money, that is. While it may be too early to follow the paper trail of their separation (or divorce), it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

In an article from Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), Despite Split, Simmonses Say Business as Usual, Russell Simmons, the 48-year-old hip hop mogul says business will run as usual:

Retailers surveyed don't anticipate that the couple's separation will impact sales of Baby Phat. One retailer said simply, "Kimora has done a great job of developing Baby Phat as a brand. The consumer gravitates toward the product. They have a pretty deep foundation of what's going on, and it will continue to operate as it has. The quality is great."

Kimora Lee Simmons, 30, is the flamboyant personality behind (or shall I say fronting) Baby Phat, a ladies sportswear brand, which spun off her ex-husband’s Phat Farm, a men’s hip hop clothing label. According to the brand’s website, “Kimora’s experience as a top fashion model, her marriage to Russell, her innate sense of style and her affinity for the finer things in life, would put Baby Phat at the forefront of the urban luxury movement.”

The website is also saturated with obviously airbrushed, rather painted, images of Kimora Lee Simmons in a blonde wig and legs galore. She drips in diamonds, uses her children as mere accessories, striking poses similar to her days as a muse for Karl Lagerfeld, when she was the face of Chanel at only 13. But nonetheless, these experiences, with the backing of her husband’s hip hop mogul money, Baby Phat became the garb of all the young ladies on the block.

The article, which tricks one to believe that it’s about business, when in actuality, is full of anonymous sources, paints Kimora as a lazy, sleep-loving over-the-top diva, and Russell as a yoga-loving philanderer. Being that WWD is a fashion industry trade paper, it was quite irritating to see such gossipy bits throughout the piece from inside sources, like:

"He hurts after he writes a check and all she wants to do is buy more houses. In the end, she'd get him to do what she wanted, but it had to be aggravating for someone who's not that person." Indeed, sources said, they were a highly combustible pair who fought a lot.

Business wise, the Baby Phat label continues to grow as a hip-hop lifestyle brand, while the Russell’s Phat Farm label stagnates. Baby Phat has expanded, including intimates, accessories, jewelry, a perfume, shoe line, and a girl’s line, which features the Simmons’ daughters, Ming Lee, 6, and Aoki Lee, 3.

Also, Kimora “developed a color cosmetics line, KLS, which is sold exclusively at Sephora. She also has plans to launch a higher-priced line of apparel under the KLS label for fall 2007 retailing,” according to the WWD article.

While this story continues to develop, the issue of who gets what is definitely going to be tracked. Nothing is more exciting than watching a powerful couple grow together, then breakup, having to split all their assets. But Russell stated in the article, “Kimora and I will remain committed parents and caring friends with great love and admiration for each other. We will also continue to work side by side on a daily basis as partners in all of our businesses.” I guess we will have to wait and see.