Bill Gates (65) and his wife Melinda (56) ended their marriage after 27 years. It goes without saying that this may be one of the most expensive divorces ever.
Bill Gates is currently fourth on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world, with an estimated net worth of more than $108 billion. At 1, with a fortune of 164 billion, still Jeff Bezos. The Amazon founder divorced MacKenzie Scott two years ago. That breakup also appears at the very top of the top 12 of the most expensive ever—an overview.
Top 12 of the most expensive ever
12. James Cameron (66) and Linda Hamilton (64)
Titanic creator James Cameron has already tied the knot five times. For wife number four, ‘The Terminator’ actress Linda Hamilton, it turned out to be “a terrible marriage, on all levels”. During the shooting of ‘Titanic’, the director had fallen for another woman: actress Suzy Amis, who also had a role in the film. Linda filed for divorce papers in 1999, after barely 2 years of marriage. Hopefully, the 44 million euros she received at the divorce could ease her suffering.
11. Kevin Costner (66) and Cindy Silva (64)
The Bodyguard actor Kevin Costner and Cindy filed for divorce in 1994 after being happily married for 16 years. Cindy was Costner’s old-school sweetheart, he met her in college and married at the age of 23. Cindy managed to make Costner $70 million poorer after the divorce. After Kevin left his high school sweetheart, he was soon spotted again with numerous women, mostly models.
10. Madonna (62) and Guy Ritchie (52)
Madonna and Guy Ritchie were once seen as a dream couple. But world-famous people also have their problems. According to the divorce file, Madonna threw it on “unreasonable behavior” from Guy. Insiders also claimed that he could no longer live with her ‘Kabbalah obsession’ and the fact that she wanted to expand their family with even more adopted children. Since no marriage contract had been drawn up, Guy could claim half of Madonna’s fortune. Ritchie settled for between € 66 and € 80 million, their estate in Wiltshire in the southwest of England, their own Pub in Mayfair, and shared child custody. Their marriage lasted eight years.
9. Steven Spielberg (74) and Amy Irving (67)
After barely 4 years of marriage, Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving saw their marriage fail in 1989. Steven had fallen for the charms of actress Kate Capshaw, whom he had met on the set of ‘Indiana Jones’. Steven and Amy had entered into a marriage contract, but the director had to pay his wife 88 million euros at the divorce. Amy had managed to convince the jury to cancel the contract because she had not consulted a lawyer when she signed at the time.
8. Tiger Woods (45) and Elin Nordegren (41)
A lot of ink has already been saying about the sharp divorce of Tiger Woods and the Swedish Elin Nordegren. The golfer and the former model divorced in 2010 after it was revealed that Woods had cheated on her with several women. The golfer will probably complain for a long time: ex-wife Elin was left with about $90 million from the divorce. Spicy detail: in 2019, Woods would still owe his ex more than $50 million.
7. Harrison Ford (77) and Melissa Mathison (67)
This ranking also includes Harrison Ford and screenwriter Melissa Mathison, who ended their 21-year marriage in 2004. It was she who filed for divorce in 2001 because their mutual differences had become too great. When the process was finally completed, Melissa saw her bill swell with a sum of between $77 million and 105 million dollars. In addition, she also received their collection of artworks, six airplanes, various real estate properties, and half of all copyrights of the DVDs and films that were canned during their marriage.
6. Neil Diamond (79) and Marcia Murphey
American singer Neil Diamond paid big bucks when he and Marcia Murphey split up in 1996 after 25 years of marriage. The irreconcilable character differences were cited as the official reason. Although it was an open secret then that Diamond liked to have even other girlfriends. Diamond left his ex-wife about $133 million, half of his fortune.
5. Michael Jordan (57) and Juanita (61)
The former top basketball player was not exactly stingy when he and his wife Juanita, the mother of three of his five children, parted in friendship in 2002. Juanita received 148 million euros and their Chicago villa. They were married for 17 years. It will not happen to Jordan a second time: he and his second wife, Yvette Prieto, are married with a marriage contract.
4. Arnold Schwarzenegger (73) and Maria Shriver (65)
Arnold Schwarzenegger saw his 25-year marriage to journalist and bestselling author Maria Shriver on the rocks. The American had called it a day because she discovered that their housekeeper was expecting a child from Arnold. In 2011 they went to court, and Schwarzenegger was allowed to hand over half of his fortune: an amount between $225 million and 335 million dollars.
3. Mel Gibson (65) and Robyn Moore
Mel Gibson was also allowed to dig deep into his pockets when he left his family. At the time of the divorce, the actor and his partner Robyn had been married for 26 years. Together they have seven children. Because the two were not married at the time on a prenuptial agreement, Robyn was also entitled to half of all the money Gibson earned during their marriage. She was also reportedly entitled to half of his salary for the rest of her life. Wife Robyn Moore was given custody of the kids and became 380 million dollars richer after the divorce.
2. Rupert Murdoch (89) and Anna Murdoch Mann (76)
The Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch must have scratched his head when his second wife Anna took off with more than 1.8 billion euros of his fortune. The two broke up in 2013 after a relationship of 14 years. Still, Murdoch was not deterred: after a romance of barely four months, the businessman got engaged in 2016 to Jerry Hall, a former model and the ex of Mick Jagger.
1. Jeff Bezos (57) and MacKenzie (50)
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos himself announced in early 2019 that he and his wife MacKenzie would be divorcing. Bezos and MacKenzie were together for 25 years. They met when they were working together for a mutual fund. In 1994, one year after their marriage, Bezos founded Amazon online store. The couple, who have four children, announced they would remain friends two years ago. Bezos’s fortune, then estimated at 119 billion euros, was divided after his divorce. The two married in community of property in 1993, although they had only known each other for six months. MacKenzie Scott received a quarter of Jeff Bezos’ stock from Amazon or 4 percent of the entire company. With an estimated fortune of 40 billion euros, she became one of the richest women in the world. As a philanthropist, she has already donated a significant amount to charities. Today her net worth stands at 49.75 billion euros, and she is the third richest woman on earth.
Jeff Bezos himself lost his title of the richest man on earth a few times after the divorce but is now at the top again.
