The Most Expensive Divorces in History

Who gets the Picasso, the stock shares, the pets, and all that cash?

Reviewed by Erika RasureFact checked by Timothy LiReviewed by Erika RasureFact checked by Timothy Li

Divorces make headlines for different reasons. Sometimes it’s because the couples involved are famous. Or the proceedings are acrimonious. Or the causes for the split are especially salacious.

Usually, though, a divorce becomes news because of money—specifically, the sums to be divvied up in the breakup. (Of course, if more than one of these conditions applies, it doesn’t hurt.) The end of Bill and Melinda Gates’s 27-year marriage was a case in point. At the time of the divorce settlement in August 2021, Gates was worth roughly $152 billion.

The exact terms of the divorce were not publicly disclosed; however, the couple lives in the community property state of Washington, making an equal split of their assets likely. Neither sought spousal support but were presumed to have split the roughly $152 billion, making their approximately $76 billion divorce one of the largest settlements on record.

Now that the Gates divorce has been settled, let’s look at some of the most expensive divorces in history (as each was touted at the time) going by the official settlement amount paid by one spouse to another (and listed in descending order). So far, the recipient spouse has always been the wife, with one possible exception.

Key Takeaways

• Bill and Melinda Gates’s 2021 divorce was one of the most expensive in history, if not the most expensive, with Melinda Gates having received an undisclosed sum estimated to be roughly $76 billion.
• Of publicly confirmed settlements, the most expensive divorce ever was between Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott, who settled in 2019 for a reported $38.3 billion.
• Other pricey settlements include Alec and Jocelyn Wildenstein, who settled their divorce in 1999 for roughly $3.8 billion, and Rupert Murdoch and his first wife Anna, who settled their 1999 divorce for a reported $1.7 billion.

Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott

Because Amazon Inc. founder Jeff Bezos was the richest man in the world at the time, it’s fitting that his divorce registers as one of the most expensive in the world. His ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, received ultimately $38.3 billion when the divorce was finalized in 2019. (Because her portion was primarily in Amazon stock, the figure has varied a bit, depending on the shares’ value when it’s estimated. It was initially estimated at between $35 billion and $36 billion). As billionaire breakups go, this one was pretty amicable—the couple exchanged mutually appreciative messages on Twitter (now X)—and was swiftly resolved out of court.

Alec and Jocelyn Wildenstein

Alec Wildenstein was a French-born, American-raised art dealer and racehorse owner. His wife, Jocelyn, was a socialite and frequent plastic surgery patient (nicknamed “Catwoman” because she cultivated an increasingly feline appearance). Theirs was a relatively quiet life, by New York City socialite standards at least, until they decided to divorce in the mid-1990s. Finalized in 1999 after two years of negotiations, the settlement awarded Jocelyn a flat $2.3 billion, plus $100 million for the next 13 years. The final amount came to $3.8 billion—with none of it to be spent on cosmetic surgery, the court decreed.

Rupert and Anna Murdoch

After three decades and three children together, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch—executive chairman of News Corp (NWS) and co-chairman of Fox Corporation (FOX) —and his wife, Anna, née Anna Torv, decided to call it a day. The proceedings started out as amicable but turned a little testy. Perhaps Murdoch’s relationship with TV journalist Wendi Deng, whom he married 17 days after the divorce was finalized in 1999, had something to do with it. Anna herself remarried six months after the decree, enriched by $1.7 billion (including $110 million in cash).

Note

It is prudent to hire a reputable divorce attorney to protect your finances.

Deng and Murdoch called it quits in 2013 after 14 years of marriage, settling amicably out of court with the terms undisclosed, thanks to one prenuptial and two postnuptial agreements. Murdoch, however, took the plunge again in 2016, marrying Mick Jagger’s ex, Jerry Hall. But the marriage proved to be short-lived. The two finalized their divorce in August 2022, with Hall receiving an unconfirmed amount of roughly $250 million, plus two luxury estates.

Bill and Sue Gross

The divorce between “Bond King” Bill Gross, co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) and manager of the Janus Henderson Global Unconstrained Bond Fund, and Sue, his wife of 31 years, was an especially bitter one. Custody of every one of the couple’s assets was contested, from their Laguna Beach manse (valued at $36 million) to their Picasso painting (later sold for $35 million) to their trio of pet cats (priceless). Sue prevailed with the Picasso and the cats, part of a settlement that ended up amounting to $1.3 billion (roughly half of Gross’s then-net worth) in 2017.

Bernie Ecclestone and Slavica Radić

The Formula One fortune was at stake when the marriage of Bernie Ecclestone, the then-CEO of the motor racing corporation, and fashion model Slavica Radić broke up. Finalized in 2009, the divorce settlement gave Radić an estimated £730 million, around $1.2 billion back then.

It was an amicable divorce—and by some accounts an unusual one because she seems to be paying him back roughly $100 million a year, reflecting the fact that many of his assets were actually held in trust in her name to avoid Britain’s steep inheritance taxes.

Harold Hamm and Sue Ann Arnall

Commencing in 2012, the divorce proceedings between Continental Resources (CLR) Chairman and CEO Harold Hamm and his wife, Sue Ann Arnall, dragged on for three years—about one-eighth of the length of their marriage. Finally, after an Oklahoma district court ordered Hamm to pay $1 billion in cash and assets, Hamm wrote her a check for $975 million. After some wavering, she deposited it early in 2015.

She later sued for more—an appeal that was rejected by the court because she had accepted the check; however, Hamm had already paid out $20 million during the case, so her final payout did come to nearly $1 billion.

Steve and Elaine Wynn

The Las Vegas-based power couple, known for co-founding casino conglomerate Wynn Resorts (WYNN), had actually divorced once before—but it was their 2010 split that stuck. As part of the settlement, Elaine received 11 million shares of Wynn Resorts stock plus some cash from Steve. The final tally varies, depending on how you value the shares, but overall, her take came to approximately $909 million.

Adnan and Soraya Khashoggi

Adnan Khashoggi—entrepreneur, arms trader, and symbol of 1970s and 1980s high life (“The Gatsby of the Middle East” was one of his nicknames)—and his wife, Soraya (née Sandra Daly), agreed to divorce in 1974, but it took until 1979 for her to seek $2.54 billion in compensation (she claimed he was threatening to take the children and reneging on their deal to keep her in the style to which she’d become accustomed). He eventually settled $874 million on her in 1982—on paper, anyway. She later claimed to have received only $2 million.

How Do I Protect Myself Financially in a Divorce?

To protect yourself financially in a divorce, it is prudent to hire a reputable divorce attorney. It is also recommended to take inventory of all assets and debts, open accounts in your own name, change your will, and resolve mortgage payments.

Can a Divorce Ruin You Financially?

A divorce can significantly impact your finances for the worse depending on how assets and debts are resolved during divorce proceedings. If both partners are working, there is typically a reduction in the standard of living as the total income is being split amongst two households instead of one. There may be child-support payments and other payments that did not exist before. There may be a splitting of net worth, including retirement funds.

How Can I Protect My 401(k) in a Divorce?

How your 401(k) is handled in a divorce depends on the state you live in and whether the 401(k) is viewed as community property or equitable distribution. If the former, your account is considered joint property and evenly split. If the latter, the assets are split as the judge sees fit.

The Bottom Line

Divorces can be expensive, even more so for the extremely wealthy when larger numbers and numerous assets are on the line. Regardless of these expensive divorces, the individuals have held onto significant amounts of wealth.

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