The 10 Most Expensive Divorce Settlements
by kalyani10
A failed marriage is torturous to end even when the marital relationship is relatively uncomplicated. However when large fortunes are involved and assets spread over several millions, it is then that the financial costs zoom up. Here are the ten most expensive divorce settlements the world has seen in recent times.
- Rupert Murdoch and Anna Murdoch
Pegged as the “most expensive divorce in history” this settlement is believed to have cost the Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch around $1.7 billion. In 1999 Murdoch split from his wife Anna after a marriage of 32 years and three children together. Anna’s settlement of $1.7 billion is believed to have included $110 million in cash and the rest in business as well as material assets. Barely seventeen days after his divorce, Murdoch tied the knot with the Chinese-born Wendy Deng who had been newly appointed as the Vice President of Murdoch’s Star TV network and was almost 38 years his junior. Anna in turn got married to investor William Mann some months later.
TIP: Read about how the manifestation miracle can help you fulfill your desires.
- Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone
One of the best-kept secrets in the world of expensive divorces has been the settlement figure related to the split of billionaire Bernie Ecclestone and his wife Slavica. This divorce was initially believed to have been to the tune of $4 billion but final reports from various financial sources put the settlement at a more modest $1 billion. The confusion around the final number is due to the fact that the settlement was never made public. Slavica a former Armani model has not wasted time putting her settlement to good use and after her divorce was reported by the media to have indulged in a shopping spree which apparently included a $60 million private plane. - Adnan and Soraiya Khashoggi
One of history’s most expensive divorces, the settlement for this one is reported to be around $874 million. Soraiya Khashoggi, originally British-born Sandra Daley, filed for divorce from her billionaire husband Saudi entrepreneur and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi way back in 1974. However it was only in 1978 that she sued him for a sum of whopping $2.5 billion. Eventually the settlement was finalized in 1982 to a much watered-down $874 million.
- Craig and Wendy McCaw
McCaw Cellular owner Craig McCaw shelled out around $460 billion after he and his then-wife Wendy split in 1998. The handsome settlement received by Wendy was most in the form of stocks in Nextel and even put her in the Forbes list of America’s 400 richest people for a brief while.
- Robert and Sheila Johnson
America’s first African-origin billionaire and co-founder of BET Robert Johnson paid up around $400 million when his thirty year-old marriage to Sheila was dissolved in 2000. However this did not stopped from both with continuing their business dealings since they own majority stakes in professional men’s and women’s basketball teams in the US.
- Roman and Irina Abramovich
What was anticipated to be the most expensive divorce settlement ended up being a comparatively tame affair with Russian industrial mogul Roman Abramovich giving up around $300 million to his estranged wife Irina. In 2007 when the divorce took place Abramovich was billed as the sixteenth richest man in the world and it was speculated that Irina could stand to gain up to half of his $18.6 billion fortune as allowed under Russian civil law. In reality however Abramovich got away with shelling out a mere 2% of this assets on his divorce settlement. However Irina was not left so badly after all since her settlement is believed to have included cash, mansions in Britain and Moscow, a yacht and a private plane.
- Michael and Maya Polsky
Though not hogging media headlines as much as other celebrity breakups, the divorce settlement of industrialist Michael Polsky and this then-wife Maya is believed to have been to the tune of $184 million. Originally a native of Ukraine, Michael Polsky arrived with Maya to the US in 1976 with few assets and a mere $500 in cash. Over time he went on to build up his fortunes with various energy companies, most famously SkyGen Energy which he sold in 2000 for $450 million. Later he became the founder and CEO of Invenergy LLC. At the time of the divorce Polsky had an estimated $368 million in cash and assets with his wife leading Maya to lay claim to around half of it.
- Michael and Juanita Jordan
American basketball legend Michael Jordan and his wife Juanita brought their marriage of seventeen years to an end in 2006. A year later the divorce settlement was finalized at around $168 million which was claimed by Forbes magazine in April 2007 to the ‘most expensive celebrity divorce in history’. The decision to finally part ways by the Jordan couple was followed by months of soul-searching and attempts by mutual friends and family to bring about a reconciliation. In fact the couple had considered divorce as far back as 2002 but had tried to patch up differences shortly after.
Apparently it didn’t work out since at one time Michael had even been willing to pay a premium in order to expedite the divorce proceedings.
- Neil Diamond and Marcian Murphy
Singer Neil Diamond had to shell out around $150 million in 1996 after rumors about his infidelities prompted his then wife Marcia to file for divorce. This brought an end to a twenty-five year long marriage, leaving fans and friends of both partners shocked and dismayed. Though the exact figure of the settlement was never made public, Diamond was later reported to have revealed to the media the approximate cost of his divorce.
- Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
Most recently one of the avidly written-about divorces has been that of American golfer Tiger Woods and his Norwegian model wife Elin Nordegren. In October 2010 the couple reached a divorce settlement that made Elin richer by $100 to $110 million in return for her silence over her husband’s affairs. The one time golf-prodigy suffered an ignominious fall over the 2009 Thanksgiving weekend when he crashed his car in the neighborhood and after which reports of a string of adulterous affairs surfaced in the media, some including hookers and bar hostesses.
- Log in to post comments
