Who Is Oliver Haarmann? All About the Financier Spotted Getting Dinner With Reese Witherspoon

Mar. 15, 2025

Reese Witherspoon attends the 74th Primetime Emmys on September 12, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. ; Oliver Haarmann during the Allen & Co. LLC Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 8, 2016.Photo:David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty

Reese Witherspoonand financier Oliver Haarmann are slowly getting to know each other.

The pair were firstspotted together in New York Cityin July 2024. After the sighting, a source told PEOPLE thatTheMorning Showstar and Haarmann are “friends.” Another insider said that the actress “is taking things slow when it comes to dating.”

Witherspoon was previously married toRyan Phillippe, with whom she shares childrenAvaandDeacon Phillippe, and toJim Toth, with whom she shares son Tennessee. She and Tothannounced their divorcein March 2023.

In September 2024, after the pair werephotographed againin N.Y.C., a source told PEOPLE that Witherspoon and Haarmann’s relationship is “just casual.”

So, who is Oliver Haarmann? Here’s everything to know about the financier after he was seen having dinner with Reese Witherspoon.

He is a financier

Oliver Haarmann arrives for a morning session during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 9, 2009.Matthew Staver/Bloomberg/Getty

Matthew Staver/Bloomberg/Getty

Haarmann is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard University, the latter of which he earned a master’s in business administration from, per hisLinkedIn. The financier started his career at KKR, a global investment firm in London, before leaving to found Searchlight Capital Partners, a private equity firm, in 2010.

He has continued his role as a partner where he works with his two cofounders to oversee the firm’s activities and portfolio, per his bio on theirwebsite.

He is a minority owner of the New York Islanders

In December 2023,Sporticoreported that Haarmann was in negotiations to buy 10% of the New York Islanders. A couple of months later,The New York Postreported that the Islanders confirmed Haarmann did buy a stake in the team, making him the second person to do so in one year.

He was previously married

Like Witherspoon, Haarmann was previously married. He and his ex-wife, Mala Gaonkar, divorced after welcoming two children together.

Gaonkar is a successful financier herself, starting her own hedge fund, SurgoCap Partners, in 2022. Like her ex-husband, she graduated from Harvard University with a master’s in business administration. Before founding her own fund, Gaonkar worked as a founding partner of investment firm Lone Pine Capital.

She also is a writer, collaborating with musician David Byrne to write an immersive theater performance in 2016. The two attended the Academy Awards together in March 2023.

He has his own charity

Along with his ex-wife Gaonkar and their friend, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation veteran Sema Sgaier, Haarman founded a charity,Surgo Foundation.

“If you don’t actually listen to people and find out what they really care about, you’re not helping anyone,” Gaonkar toldWin May 2017 of the charity’s purpose.

He and Witherspoon were spotted having dinner in July 2024

Leon Bennett/Getty ; Peter Elmholt/Bloomberg/Getty

Witherspoon and Haarmann dined at L’Artusi in N.Y.C. in July 2024 after flying into the city via helicopter the previous day.

“She enjoys it but doesn’t want it to be a big focus. She’s busy with work and her son,” a source told PEOPLE of Witherspoon’s perspective on dating. “These are her biggest priorities.”

Before her meetup with Haarmann in the city, Witherspoonspent timewith palsGwyneth PaltrowandCameron Diazover the weekend.

Witherspoon has been open about her struggles after her divorce

Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth arrive for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on February 26, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.Karwai Tang/Getty

Karwai Tang/Getty

Witherspoon’s dinner with Haarmann came a year afterher divorce with Toth was finalized.

“It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” Witherspoon and Toth said in a statement when announcing their split in March 2023. “We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness and mutual respect for everything we have created together.”

She has previously spoken about the difficulties she experienced following her split, tellingHarper’s Bazaarin August 2023 thatsharing her story herself felt more “authentic” than letting others tell it, as they did during her split with Phillippe.

“To be able to talk to people directly about what’s going on in my life and just share it in the way that I share great professional experiences or personal experiences, it feels much more authentic to be able to say things in my own voice and not let somebody else control what’s happening,” she said.

“Then, of course, there’s speculation, but I can’t control that. All I can do is be my most honest, forthright self and be vulnerable,” she added.

Witherspoon shared that while the divorce was a “vulnerable” time for her, she felt “very connected” with those going through the same thing as her.

source: people.com