Simon Taub, owner of TechKnits Inc., won a court battle against his wife, Chana Taub, to approve the construction of the wall, which splits two of the house's three floors in half, the New York Daily News reported Friday.

"I didn't believe he would actually do this," said Taub's wife, Chana. "This is not a living space; it can't be."

The division leaves the sweater mogul with only a quarter of the house, but the section includes a bathroom and kitchen. He blamed the split with his wife on money.

"Her mother got divorced, her grandmother before her got divorced, all of her sisters got divorced and now she is divorced," he said. "For her, divorce is always ugly."

Chana Taub's sister-in-law said the millionaire built the wall just to torment his wife.

"This is a multimillionaire who says he has nowhere to go, nowhere to live," said Esther Newhouse. "He has nothing else to do but torment his wife, and that's what he's doing now."