Divorce is never a pleasant experience. It is much less enjoyable when it occurs in public and everyone starts talking about you and your failing marriage, which is one of the perks of being a celebrity. People are interested in learning why your marriage failed as well as how much is being paid as part of the divorce settlement.
Celebrities’ divorce settlements mirror how lavish their lifestyles and incomes are. So, we’ve compiled the most exorbitant celebrity divorce settlements ever for you. Get ready to lose your seat as a result of these stats.
Steve & Elaine Wynn – $741 million
Steve Wynn, a businessman and art collector, wed Elaine for the first time in 1963. Their union lasted till 1986. In 1976, when they were still married, they co-founded Mirage resorts. In 1986, the couple divorced for the first time. A few years later, in 1991, they got back together and believed that maybe this time, their marriage would work. Well, in 2010 it failed once more. They jointly co-founded Wynn resorts during their second marriage.
Elaine received $750 million in Wynn shares as part of the divorce settlement, and Steve publicly divided the Wynn Resort portion with her. I suppose being married to him a second time was a wonderful decision. Elaine is a board director now while Steve continues to lead the company as CEO.
Paul McCartney & Heather Mills – $48.6 Million
Paul McCartney, the renowned English bass player and vocalist of The Beatles, wed former model Heather Mills in a magnificent wedding at Castle Leslie in Ireland. Beatrice is their only child together. Only six years after being married, they both had no idea they would become divorced.
Mills handled all aspects of the divorce on her own behalf. Later, McCartney praised her for having the bravery to do this. With a net worth of over $1 billion, the divorce settlement had no negative effects on his financial situation. Heather is legally entitled to the title of Lady McCartney thanks to her previous marriage to Paul, even if she doesn’t use it.
Madonna & Guy Ritchie – $92 Million
In November 1998, Madonna and filmmaker Guy Ritchie first spoke. Ritchie is renowned for his crime movies, and he has helmed titles including Sherlock Holmes, Revolver, and Snatch. In 2000, he married Madonna for a second time in Scotland at the breathtaking Skibo Castle in an unplanned ceremony. Their son, Rocco, was born shortly after Madonna. Together, they adopted David from Malawi in 2006.
Unfortunately, the union failed, and two years later Madonna requested a divorce. The divorce was granted nisi. Fortunately, they reached a consensus on their kids. Since then, Ritchie has married Jacqui Ainsley, a model, and the two have had three children together.
Neil Diamond & Marcia Murphey – $150 million
Neil Diamond, a singer-songwriter, musician, and actor, wed Marcia Murphey, a production assistant, in 1969. Jesse and Micah, their two kids, were born throughout the course of their 25-year marriage.
Marcia frequently suspected Neil of having an affair, which resulted in their divorce. Given Neil’s $175 million current net worth, it appears that the divorce settlement may have caused him significant financial hardship.
Demi Moore & Bruce Willis – $90 Million
Just as Demi and Bruce’s union was well publicized, so did their divorce. Second husband of Demi was the Die Hard actor. Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah were their three daughters born throughout the course of their 11-year marriage.
In a public speech after their divorce in 2000, Willis said that “he had failed as a parent and a spouse.” Willis commended Will Smith with assisting him in handling the circumstance. Since their divorce, Willis and Moore have continued to get along well with one another.
Dmitry & Elena Rybolovleva – $4.5 Billion
Elena Rybolovleva filed for divorce from Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian billionaire and businessman. He used to “discuss his youthful conquests with his buddies, and other oligarchs,” she said, citing this as the reason for their divorce. That is not cool at all.
Elena was first given an astounding $4.5 billion in the 2014 settlement by the courts, but after Dmitry appealed, she was given “just” $604 million.
Michael & Diandra Douglas – $45 Million
Actor Michael Douglas of Wall Street wed Diandra Luker, a diplomat’s daughter from Austria, in 1977. He was 32 years old, while she was just 19 at the time, thus their age gap was immediately apparent.
The couple’s 1995 divorce appears to be a result of the 13-year age gap. One year after being married, they welcomed Cameron into the world. The substantial $45 million divorce settlement hardly made a dent in Michael’s $300 million net wealth.
Rupert Murdoch & Anna Maria Torv – $1.2 Billion
In 1967, Australian media tycoon Rupert Murdoch married Scottish journalist Anna Mann. Anna was a reporter for The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. She was second wife to Rupert. In 1999, 32 years later, the couple divorced. Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James Murdoch were their three children born during their marriage.
Murdoch received a papal honor from Pope John Paul II just before their split: Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great. Given Murdoch’s net fortune of $18.1 billion and their astonishing $1.2 billion divorce deal, he will be OK.
Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos – $140 Billion
When Mackenzie was employed by one of Jeff Bezos’ hedge funds in 1992, he first met the ex-wife he would later divorce. They were one of the wealthiest couples in history when they rapidly wed in 1993. They later had four children (three sons and an adopted daughter from China). The pair made the announcement that they will be separating in 2019 after 25 years of marriage.
According to rumors, actress and helicopter pilot Lauren Sanchez was the other lady Jeff Bezos fell in love with. Although divorces are never easy, it’s comforting to know that these two were able to settle their differences amicably (as much as they could). Is this going to be the most costly divorce settlement in history? Since there is no prenuptial agreement and Amazon is the major source of Bezos’ wealth, Mackenzie has the legal right to acquire half of the business. What does this entail for Amazon’s future, employees, and most crucially, consumers, though? Time will only tell…
Michael Jordan & Juanita Vanoy – $168 Million
In 1984, Juanita Vanoy and basketball great Michael Jordan met on a blind date. Jefferey Michael and Marcus James were their two boys who they had together. After 17 years, they were divorced. They held the record for the most costly celebrity divorce at the time of their divorce’s finalization in 2007. Jordan now has another another record to add to his already impressive resume, albeit it’s probably not one he’s particularly proud of.
However, given his estimated net worth of $1.7 billion, the greatest basketball player of all time could afford to pay the exorbitant price.
Eddie & Nicole Murphy – $15 Million
Nicole Mitchell and comedian Eddie Murphy first crossed paths at the NAACP Image Awards ceremony in 1988. They got married at The Plaza Hotel in New York City’s Grand Ballroom a few years later, in 1993. Five kids were born to the model-comedian couple: Bria, Myles, Shayne, Zola, and Bella.
Sadly, the kids were unable to keep the couple together, and in 2006 they divorced. Murphy might have paid more than $15 million considering his fame from films like Shrek and The Nutty Professor, but they had already entered into a prenuptial agreement. Nicole, who apparently has debt, was unfortunate in this.
David Hasselhoff & Pamela Bach – $5 Million
Undoubtedly, this is one of the oddest towns around. David Hasselhoff, the Baywatch star, wed actress Pamela Bach in 1989. Over the course of their marriage, they had two children.
David made the announcement of his divorce in 2006, claiming irreconcilable differences. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Hasselhoff has battled alcoholism. In contrast to The Hoff, who now holds the Guinness World Record for being the most viewed TV personality, Pamela received $5 million from the divorce settlement. We’re very certain that’s a victory for him.
Rupert Murdoch & Wendi Deng – $1.8 Million
Just 17 days after divorcing Anna Maria Torv, the $19.3 billion Australian media tycoon married Yale alumna Wendi Deng, who is of Chinese descent. 17 days! These are the types of stuff you just can’t make up. Rupert was 68 at the time, and Wendi was 30.
However, despite the marriage’s unusually lengthy lifespan, it terminated in divorce 14 years later. Grace and Chloe, their twin daughters, were born to them. It is not unexpected that Murdoch has been married four times and is the father of six children given his hasty marital decisions.
Heidi Klum & Seal – $70 Million
We adored Heidi and Seal as a couple, so when they separated, we were shocked and heartbroken. The singer-model couple were hitched in 2005 and even reaffirmed their commitment to one another yearly on their wedding day in front of loved ones.
Before calling it quits, they were wed for seven years. Seal and Heidi share three biological children, and she also adopted Heidi’s daughter from her previous union. After almost seven years of marriage, Heidi and Seal announced their separation in January 2012. The couple divorced legally in 2014.
Bernie & Slavica Ecclestone – $1 Billion
For 23 years, British billionaire Bernie Ecclestone was wed to Slavica, an international model from Croatia. Despite having a 28-year age gap and a clear language barrier at the outset of their relationship, the couple’s love remained strong for many years, during which time they produced two children.
The two, however, divorced since love (and money) weren’t enough to keep them together. In order to negotiate the divorce settlement, they both engaged divorce lawyers in 2009. While all was going on, Slavica made off with $1 billion in cash.
Alec & Jocelyn Wildenstein – $2.5 Billion
Jocelyn Perisse first met billionaire businessman Alec Wildenstein while she was a visitor at Kenya’s Ol Jogi Ranch. Jocelyn received $2.5 billion in addition to $100 million annually for 13 years as part of their massive divorce settlement after they were married in 1978 and divorced 21 years later. Media outlets covered their two-year divorce process extensively.
The pair is well known for having undergone considerable cosmetic surgery, particularly Jocelyn who had catlike characteristics to fulfill Alec’s fantasies. The judge said Jocelyn could not utilize the money for cosmetic surgery during the divorce settlement. He made a wise decision there.
Harrison Ford & Melissa Mathison – $118 Million
Harrison Ford, the legendary actor best known as Hans Solo from Indiana Jones, was married to his second wife, screenwriter Melissa Mathison, for 17 years before their union ended in 2004. Malcolm and Georgia, their two children, were born to the couple.
Even though Harrison Ford has a net worth of over $240 million, their $118 million divorce deal seems a little high. Still, we’re confident he’s recovered because five of his movies are among the 30 highest-grossing movies of all time.
Craig McCaw & Wendy Petrak – $450 Million
Craig McCaw, the company’s founder, was able to sell McCaw Cellular to AT&T for approximately $12 billion. After 21 years of marriage, he and California newspaper publisher Wendy Petrak separated in 1995. This indicates that his marriage to Wendy Petrak wasn’t as successful.
Given that she walked away from her divorce with $450 million, she must have had a persuasive divorce lawyer. With a net worth of over $1 billion, Craig is no longer among the 400 richest Americans, but we strangely don’t feel too awful about it.
Donald & Ivana Trump – $25 Million
The fact that Donald Trump, the current president of the United States, has wed three times is no secret. At the age of 30, the former businessman and TV personality wed Czech beauty Ivana Zelnková. They have three kids together: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. After Ivana learned that Donald was having an affair with actress Marla Maples, the two decided to get divorced in 1992. Their divorce received a lot of media coverage and appeared on the front covers of 11 consecutive New York tabloid newspapers.
The subsequent year, Donald wed Marla (which also ended in divorce six years later). Ivana’s autobiography, Raising Trump, was published in 2017. In it, she discusses her background and the early years of raising kids with Donald.
Mel Gibson & Robyn Moore – $425 Million
Mel Gibson fell in love with Robyn Moore when he was still a young aspiring actor in the late 1970s. During their 26-year marriage, which began in 1980, Gibson produced, directed, and starred in films including Braveheart. They have six sons and one daughter together.
In 2011, Gibson acknowledged that their marriage had ended because of his drunk driving incident. Gibson had a lengthy 10-year break from acting before returning in 2006 as a result of various court disputes and contentious remarks that were made public.
Harold Hamm & Sue Ann Arnall – $975 Million
One of the key players in the oil and gas sector is the entrepreneur Harold Hamm. His estimated net worth is $14.2 billion. In 1988, he wed Sue Ann Arnall, an economist and attorney. During their 17 years of marriage, they had two kids. Despite divorcing in 2005, the divorce documents were only submitted in 2012.
She refused a divorce settlement check in the amount of $974,790.317.77, claiming that doing so “would prejudice her appeal” with Mr. Hamm, according to a Wall Street Journal report. She did, however, deposit the $975 million settlement money rather quickly.
Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt – $400 Million
The “it” pair in Hollywood was Brangelina. The two award-winning actors began dating in 2006 after collaborating on the Mr. and Mrs. Smith movie the year before. The tabloids went bananas with their scandalous romance. Jolie was charged of orchestrating Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s divorce in 2005. It wasn’t until 2014 at their Chateua Miraval home in Correns, France, that they made their union legal.
Three biological children and three children they adopted overseas made up the Brangelina brood throughout the course of their 12-year partnership. Sadly, their marriage dissolved in 2016. The price tag on their widely reported divorce was almost $400 million.
Jennifer Lopez & Chris Judd – $14 Million
The media has always been interested in Jennifer Lopez’s life. The singer was named the most powerful celebrity in the world by Forbes in 2013, which is a very significant title to hold. The most famous Latin artist in the US broke up with Sean Combs and started seeing Chris Judd, a former backup dancer.
In the months of September 2001 and June 2002, they were temporarily married. Was the $14 million truly worth the year of marriage?
Greg Norman & Laura Andrassy – $103 Million
In the 1980s and 1990s, Australian professional golfer Greg Norman held the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings for 331 weeks. He won 91 international competitions, including two majors—the 1986 and 1993 Open Championships—and 20 PGA Tour competitions.
In 1981, he wed Laura Andrassy, a flight attendant. Greg Norman, Jr. and Morgan-Leigh were their two children; they were married until 2007. In 2006, he moved on to the World No. 1 Chris Evert, but that romance ended after a year as well.
Tiger Woods & Elin Nordegren – $750 Million
Tiger Woods, a legendary golfer, met Elin Nordegren, a former model from Sweden, during the Open Championship in 2001. The majority of us are aware that they share two children and that Woods’ extramarital affair led to the dissolution of their marriage, which occurred in front of a large number of people.
Woods could afford to give Elin the $750 million divorce settlement since she was his wife, and he was the highest-paid athlete in the world for a while. Additionally, she completely earned it, even if we regret that the athlete’s private problems were made public.
Prince Charles & Princess Diana – $23 Million
Prince Charles and Princess Diana appeared to have a love you only saw in movies. The world rejoiced when they got engaged in February 1981. As they started their small family of four with Princes William and Harry, the entire world watched. They nevertheless found time to get involved with several charitable groups despite all of their honorable obligations and parental responsibilities.
Additionally, the entire world witnessed their acrimonious divorce in 1996, which was quite public. Princess Diana was pursued by paparazzi and killed in a car accident just one year later.
Steven Spielberg & Amy Irving – $100 Million
What began as a sweet love tale turned into a divorce that cost a hefty penny. Amy was an aspiring actress who was young, and Steven had just finished directing his first big-budget movie. They were only married from 1984 until 1989.
Unfortunately for Spielberg, because their prenuptial agreement was scrawled on a napkin, the judge rejected it. The filmmaker of some of the highest-grossing movies ever can, however, afford the expensive payout.
James Cameron & Linda Hamilton – $50 Million
The two most popular and successful movies of all time, Titanic and Avatar, were both created by the renowned and award-winning filmmaker James Cameron. Cameron has been married five times, matching the number of other highly compensated celebrities on the list.
While they were working on Terminator 2 together in 1991, he and Linda Hamilton started dating. Cameron at the time was married. Hamilton discovered Cameron was cheating on her again, this time with Suzy Amis, and their marriage was over after just 18 months.
Johnny Depp & Amber Heard – $7 Million
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp were married on a stunning island. Even an island wedding, though, couldn’t keep them together for 15 months until they decided to call it quits. Amber Heard applied for a restraining order against the actor in addition to her divorce petition.
They went through a contentious divorce, and the actress-model gave her settlement money to groups that support women who are victims of domestic abuse. That says it all.
Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes – $10 Million
When Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise started dating, got hitched, and had Suri, everyone lost their minds. After their six-year marriage ended in divorce, they became more crazier.
They reportedly parted ways in 2012 as a result of Tom Cruises’ escalating fixation with Scientology. Katie apparently wasn’t a fan and was concerned for their daughter’s safety. The divorce settlement has few specifics, much like the teachings of the Church of Scientology.
Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman – $214 Million
In 1990, Rain Man star Tom Cruise wed Nicole Kidman, an actress. While making the movie Days of Thunder, the two met. Over the course of their somewhat more than ten years of marriage, they adopted two children.
The couple’s marriage ended amicably, and they opted for a private divorce settlement over an ugly public court battle. Kidman continues to talk about how much she adores and loves Cruise.
Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston – $60 million
In the early 2000s, the most well-known celebrity pair was Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. People were utterly enthralled. In 2000, they were married in a lavish wedding in Malibu. Let’s just say that when the public learned about their divorce in 2005, it was sad.
We won’t get into details, but it appears that the “Team Aniston” vs. “Team Jolie” debate is no longer relevant because neither relationship has succeeded. Which team were you actually supporting, though?
Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver – $375 Million
For 25 years, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriner referred to each other as husband and wife until the revelation of Arnold’s romance with their maid. Additionally, we mean the entire world when we say “public.”
Maria was lucky to receive $375 million and custody of their children as a result of their bitter divorce.
Bernie Ecclestone and Slavica Radić, 2009 — $1.2 billion
One of the wealthiest persons in the United Kingdom divorced a Croatian model in 2009. It seems like a perfect fit, doesn’t it? Bernie Ecclestone, the head of Formula One, and Slavica Radi are the two individuals we are referring about.
Although it wasn’t verified, the settlement was thought to be for $1.2 billion. Oddly enough, Radi seems to be making amends with her ex-husband.