This is an updated list of the most expensive divorce settlements history.
10. Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore
Divorce Year: 2006
Settlement: $425 million
The nearly half-a-million-dollar settlement between actor Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore remains the largest Hollywood divorce payout in history.
The settlement totaled half of the actor’s net worth at the time.
9. Craig McCaw and Wendy McCaw
Divorce Year: 1997
Settlement: $460 million
Cell phone industry pioneer Craig McCaw and newspaper publisher Wendy McCaw amicably divorced in 1997, with the settlement estimated to exceed $460 million in Nextel stock, according to Forbes.
8. Dmitry Rybolovlev and Elena Rybolovlev
Divorce Year: 2014
Settlement: $604 million
Elena Rybolovleva filed for divorce from Russian businessmanDmitry Rybolovlev and cited his “serial infidelity,” saying he used to “share his young conquests with his friends, and other oligarchs.”
The courts initially awarded Elena a whopping $4.5 billion in the settlement in 2014, but after an appeal, she walked away with “only” $604 million.
7. Adnan Khashoggi and Soraya Khashoggi
Divorce Year: 1980
Settlement: $874 million
In 1961, Saudi Arabian arms dealer AdnanKhashoggi married a 20-year-old British woman named Sandra Daly, who converted to Islam and changed her name to Soraya.
According to Time , at the height of their wealth, the couple owned 17 homes, three planes, and three yachts.
The couple divorced in 1974 and their settlement totaled a then-record $874 million dollars equivalent to more than $2 billion today.
6. Harold Hamm and Sue Ann Arnall
Divorce Year: 2012
Settlement: $975 million
The bitter divorce proceedings between oil magnate Harold Hamm and his wife Sue Ann Arnall ended with Hamm writing her a massive $974.8 million check.
Arnall didn’t immediately cash the check amid a multi-year court battle
for a larger settlement, but ultimately deposited it in 2015.
5. Steve and Elaine Wynn
Divorce Year: 2010
Settlement: $1 billion
Las Vegas casino bigwigs Steve and Elaine Wynn were married to each other not once but twice, from 1963 to 1986 and from 1991 to 2010.
Their second divorce is said to be one of the most expensive of all time . Although details have been kept under wraps, the settlement is
estimated at $1 billion.
4. Bernie Ecclestone and Slavica Radi
Divorce Year: 2009
Settlement: $1.2 billion
Formula One executive Bernie Ecclestone, one of the richest people in the United Kingdom, divorced Croatian model Slavica Radi in 2009.
The settlement was estimated at $1.2 billion, and although the details aren’t completely clear, there appears to be an unusual twist Radi seems to be the one paying Ecclestone.
3. Rupert Murdoch and Anna Torv
Divorce Year: 1999
Settlement: $1.7 billion
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and journalist Maria Torv were married for 31 years and had three children together.
But the couple had diverging plans for when Murdoch would retire, and they agreed to an ” amicable separation ” in 1998. Details of the separation are sparse, but Torv is rumored to have received $1.7 billion.
Both parties seemed to have moved on quickly: Murdoch married Wendi Deng 17 days after the divorce, while Torv married William Mann six months after.
2. Alec Wildenstein and Jocelyn Wildenstein,
Divorce year: 1999
Settlement: $3.8 billion
The costliest known divorce occurred in 1999, when French-American businessman and art dealer Alec Wildenstein divorced his wife of 21 years, Jocelyn Wildenstein.
The high-profile divorce proceedings resulted in Jocelyn being awarded $2.5 billion and $100 million for each of the next 13 years, according to People , for a jaw-dropping total of $3.8 billion. That’s about $5.7 billion in today’s dollars.
1. Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos
Divorce Year: 2019
Settlement: $35 billion
Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos’ divorce, announced 4/4/2019 from MacKenzie Bezos; after 25 years of marriage, and is the most expensive divorce in history with MacKenzie Bezos getting $38.3 billion dollars worth of Amazon stock, making the 48-year-old novelist the world’s fourth-richest woman, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
The divorce from his wife was finalized by a Seattle-area judge on 5/7/2019.
