Divorce Settlements in History, The Top 8

Everything is bigger in a celebrities life. The cars they drive, the houses they live in, and the vacations they take are extravagant. So, it stands to reason that their divorces are also larger than life. Celebrity divorce settlements are often messy and public.

There is no shortage of romantic movies that make love seem like an effortless process. However, sometimes marriages aren’t like those in the movies and end in messy divorces. We are going to take a look at the most notable divorce settlements in recent memory.

The first divorce on our list is not yet final. However, the projected settlement is likely to make it the biggest settlement in history. Harold Hamm is worth approximately $11 billion which makes him the 35 richest people in the U.S. according to Forbes. Estimates suggest that this divorce settlement could be for more than $5 billion. Sue Ann claims that Harold was having an affair and caused the breakdown of their marriage. One thing is certain that is sure to be the most costly mistake he has ever made.

This is currently the largest divorce settlement in history until the Hamm case becomes final. In 1999 Rupert paid $110 million in cash as well as News Corp company stock. The total price tag of the divorce? $1.7 billion and when you consider inflation the price tag climbs to $2.4 billion. Shortly after the divorce, Rupert married a much younger Wendi Deng. But don’t start feeling bad for Anna yet, she also remarried quickly to investor William Mann and left the marriage with a healthy bank account.

In 2009, their divorce came to an end and Slavica, a former Armani model, was awarded $1.16 billion from the former Formula One racing CEO. To celebrate Slavica immediately went out and bought herself a $60 million personal jet. When a regular person gets a divorce, they celebrate with a bottle of cheap champagne and not a jet. The lifestyle of the rich and famous must be nice.

There are a couple of interesting facts about this marriage. At just 15 years old Soraya married international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Yes, you read that last sentence right. Not only did Soraya give birth to their five children, but she also became Adnan’s business partner. During the divorce, Soraya received $874 million. When you consider inflation the settlement is worth more than $2 billion.

This is an interesting story because this couple has gone through two divorces. The first divorce was in 1986 the second happened in 2009. The most recent divorce came with a $741 million price tag. However, Stephen Wynn is not worth approximately $2.5 billion today, so it clearly didn’t hurt that bad. The hotel mogul has not missed a beat, and the Las Vegas skyline is proof of just that.

Craig McCaw made his billions selling his company McCaw Cellular to AT&T for $12 billion. Which makes the divorce settlement a little bit of a head scratcher. Craig had to give Wendy $460 million when their marriage came to an end in 1998. Don’t feel too bad for Wendy though, she took the settlement money and put it to work, buying the Santa-Barbara New-Press from The New York Times. Her efforts earned her a temporary spot on the Forbes’ list of the 400 richest Americans.

An affair was likely the end of the 28-year marriage between Mel and Robyn. Before the ink was even dry on the settlement papers news of Mel’s girlfriend being pregnant came out. You may think that almost three decades and seven children are enough to get any couple through tough times, but this wasn’t the case for this pair. The total award in the case was $425 million.

This couple is famous for creating the BET Network. In the end, mixing business with pleasure may have been their undoing. The couple cited “professional differences” as the reason for ending their 33-year long marriage. The price tag for the settlement? $400 million. Which if you consider the fact that Viacom bought BET for $3 billion two years before the divorce, doesn’t seem like much.

While it is fun to read about celebrity divorces, your divorce will probably have as little in common with a celebrity as your day to day life has. However, just because you divorce won’t have a nine-figure settlement doesn’t mean that it is any less stressful or important. No matter your net worth Alan Braverman a Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney will make sure that your settlement is fair. Contact Alan J. Braverman today for a consultation.