Scottish journalist Anna Mann and Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch married in 1967. Anna worked for his Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph. She was Rupert’s second wife. 32 years later, the pair divorced in 1999. During their marriage, they had three children together: Elisabeth Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and James Murdoch.
Right before their separation, Murdoch was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, a papal honor awarded by Pope John Paul II. Their divorce settlement of a staggering $1.2 billion was mind-blowing, but considering Murdoch’s net worth of $18.1 billion, he’ll be okay.
$4.5 Billion
Elena Rybolovleva filed for divorce from Russian businessman and investor Dmitry Rybolovlev. She cited his "serial infidelity," for their divorce stating that he used to "share his young conquests with his friends, and other oligarchs." That just ain't cool.
At first, the courts awarded Elena a staggering $4.5 billion in the settlement in 2014, but after Dmitry appealed, she was granted "only" $604 million.
$45 Million
In 1977, Wall Street actor Michael Douglas married Diandra Luker, daughter of an Austrian Diplomat. The age difference was clearly visible between the two, with him being 32 years old while she was just 19 years old at the time.
It seems like the 13-year age difference had its impact on the couple and they divorced in 1995. They had a son together, Cameron, one year after their wedding. The generous divorce settlement of $45 million didn't put much of a dent in Michael's $300 million net worth.
$4.2 Billion
Amazon tycoon, Jeff Bezos met his now ex-wife Mackenzie in 1992, when she was working in one of his hedge funds. They quickly got married in 1993 and became one of the richest couples in history. They went on to have 4 children (three sons and an adopted daughter from China). After 25 years of marriage, the couple announced it would be divorcing in 2019.
Jeff Bezos is said to have fallen for another woman, Lauren Sanchez, an actor and helicopter pilot. Even though divorces are never simple, it's good to know that these two at least ended on amicable terms (as much as they could). Mackenzie gave all of her divorce settlement money to charity. Wow!
$168 Million
Basketball legend Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy met on a blind date in 1984. They had two sons together, Jefferey Michael and Marcus James. Seventeen years later they divorced. When their divorce was finalized in 2007, they held the record for the most expensive celebrity divorce. Another record to add to Jordan’s already long list of achievements, we’re sure just not the kind he’s proud of.
But, one thing is for certain, the greatest basketball player of all time could afford to hand over the hefty cost, considering his net worth of 1.7 billion dollars.