5 Most Expensive Divorce Settlements Of All Time

When the rich and famous divorce, it makes front page news. The most recent is the divorce of Bill Gates and his wife Melinda. The news has come as a shock for the world since Bill and Melinda have been together for 27 years. The good thing is that the couple will continue their philanthropic work even after their separation. They have said that they are separating as a couple and not in their mission to help the world via their Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation charitable organization.

Although exact details are not available yet, this divorce will result in splitting of billions of dollars. As per Forbes data, Bill Gates has a net worth of more than $130 billion. Till we get the details of this divorce, let’s take a look at some of the other most expensive divorces settlements of all time.

Steve Wynn and Elaine Wynn – The couple married in 1963 and divorced in 1986. They remarried in 1991 and divorced again in 2010. As per estimates, Elaine received around USD 1 billion in divorce settlement.

Bernie Ecclestone and Slavica Ecclestone – The couple had married in 1985 and divorced in 2009. They have two daughters from the marriage. Slavica received around $1.2 billion as divorce settlement.

Rupert Murdoch and Anna Murdoch – The couple split after nearly 33 years of marriage. They have three children from the marriage. As part of the divorce settlement, Anna received USD 1.7 billion. Around $110 million was in cash. Both Rupert and Anna have remarried and gone their separate ways.

Alec Nathan Wildenstein and Jocelyn Wildenstein – The couple filed for divorce in 1999 after a long marriage. They had married when both of them were in their 30s. The divorce was quite controversial and covered widely in the media. Jocelyn received $3.8 billion in divorce settlement, making it the second highest in history.

Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos – The couple divorced in 2019 after being together for around 26 years. Jeff paid MacKenzie USD 38 billion in divorce settlement, making it the most expensive of all time. Most of it was paid in Amazon stock. MacKenzie’s current wealth is estimated to be around USD 61.4 billion, which makes her the 21st wealthiest person on the planet.

With such expensive divorce settlements, it makes us wonder whether money can alleviate the pain of a broken and irreversible relationship. We think there is no clear answer for that. It may vary based on individual experiences and specific situations. Sometimes we have to make hard decisions and move on instead of going through a never ending cycle of pain and misery. It’s recommended that we keep moving, keep walking ahead, no matter how hard the circumstances.