Divorce is an often-unfortunate end to a marriage. It can be amicable; it can be contentious. Expert legal counsel is a must in situations of this nature, and attorneys like those at Chicago divorce lawyers ABM Family Law, can make a huge difference. According to marriage.com, financial problems are the second most common reason for couples to file for divorce. This could lead to the belief that the wealthier a couple or a spouse is, the less chance of a marriage ending. However, this is not the case. Wealthy businesspeople, celebrities, and even royalty have gone through divorces. High net worth divorce attorneys are worth their weight in gold, due to the often-extraordinary sums of money being settled in court.
Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott – $38bn
Jeff Bezos is one of the most famous and successful businesspeople of all time. Founder of Amazon, Bezos is the richest man on Earth. Scott, for her part, assisted Bezos in launching Amazon. When they announced their divorce in 2019 after 26 years of marriage and “a long period of loving exploration and trial separation,” speculation was rife as to how their assets would be split. In what was an amicable split, Scott received 4% of Amazon stock, worth between $35bn and $38bn at the time. According to Forbes, Scott now has an estimated net worth of $53bn, making her the third richest woman in the world. Bezos’ assets stand at over $120bn.
Alec and Jocelyn Wildenstein – $3.8bn
Before Jeff Bezos was Alex Wildenstein. The art dealer and businessperson was married to the American socialite for over 20 years. Jocelyn Wildenstein became infamous for the large amount of cosmetic surgery she had done, in addition to a luxurious and extravagant lifestyle. She claimed to have found Alex cheating in 1997, and after two years of negotiations in court a settlement was landed upon. Jocelyn was awarded $2.5bn, as well as $100m every year for 13 years, totaling $3.8bn. In what was a strange stipulation, the judge ordered that none of the money awarded to Jocelyn was to be spent on plastic surgery. In the years since she has filed for bankruptcy.
Rupert Murdoch and Anna Maria Mann – $1.7bn
Controversial media mogul Rupert Murdoch met Anna Maria Mann (nee Torv) in the 1960s, and the pair were together for over 30 years. They had three children together, but in 1999 the couple divorced. Anna was awarded $1.7bn, $110m of which was in cash. Less than three weeks after the settlement was finalized in 1999, Murdoch married Wendi Deng, who was 38 years his senior. What began as an amicable split quickly became tense. Anna was interviewed about the end of her marriage in 2001and said, “(Murdoch) was extremely hard, ruthless and determined that he was going to go through with this, no matter what I wanted or what I was trying to do to save the marriage. He had no interest in that whatsoever.”
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren – $110m
After Tiger Woods crashed his car outside of his home in 2009 in mysterious circumstances, a series of infidelities emerged. In a public press conference, the golfing legend fronted up and apologized: “I want to say to each of you simply and directly: I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible, selfish behavior.”
The couple had been married for six years and then finalized their divorce a year after the infidelities emerged. It was reported that Nordegren stood to gain over $700m from the divorce. However, Forbes reported that she walked away with $110m, which was a sixth of Woods’ net worth at the time.
