Before Bill Gates: 5 of the most expensive celebrity divorce settlements ever – from Jeff Bezos to Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods

May 13 , 2021

As Bill and Melinda Gates begin divorce proceedings, we look at five of the most expensive divorces ever. Photo: @forbes/Instagram

Who would’ve thought that the world was capable of talking about anything except Covid-19 – but it’s finally happened due to the sudden and unfortunate split of Bill and Melinda Gates. The couple has announced that they are to divorce after 27 years of marriage, with court documents revealing the duo didn’t have a prenup in place, though there is some sort of separation contract.

If you thought weddings are expensive, then don’t even think about divorce – there have been some staggeringly expensive splits between the rich and famous. Here are five of the most high-profile divorce settlements, being raked over again in reverse order, in light of the news the Bill and Melinda will have some US$127 billion to divide up between them.

How billionaires like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos met their better halves

5. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren, US$110 million

Tiger Woods with former wife Elin Nordegren. Photo: Reuters

From being considered the best golfer of all time to a scandal that shattered his golden boy image, Tiger Woods has seen it all.

That scandal also resulted in the end of his six years of marriage to Elin Nordegren. The couple met when Nordegren moved to work in the US from Sweden, but the marriage ended in 2010 after it was revealed he was having an affair with a New York nightclub manager. Though reports at the time suggested huge settlements of half a billion dollars or more, the true figure is widely reported to be around US$110 million.

The fabulous US$100 million life of Ivana Trump

4. Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy, US$168 million

Michael Jordan and former wife Juanita Vanoy. Photo: Reuters

Michael and Juanita Jordan mutually and amicably decided to end their 17-year marriage. The two first filed for divorce in 2002 but reconciled shortly after. In 2006, they filed for divorce again. According to Chicago Business, Vanoy received US$168 million in the divorce settlement, one of the largest settlements in sports history.

Married, dating, divorced? 5 times Hollywood celebs dated politicians

3. Rupert Murdoch and Anna Maria Mann, US$1.7 billion

Rupert Murdoch and former wife Anna Maria Torv, now remarried to financier William Mann. Photo: AP

Expensive divorces weren’t such a thing back in the 90s but media mogul Rupert Murdoch made headlines with his 1999 divorce from Anna Maria Torv, a Scottish journalist and novelist. She reportedly received US$1.7 billion from the settlement and an additional US$110 million in cash. She has since remarried, to financier William Mann.

2. Alec Wildenstein and Jocelyn Wildenstein, US$3.8 billion

Billionaire Alec Wildenstein and his then-wife Jocelyn. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

French-born American billionaire Alec Wildenstein was married to socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein for 21 years. Their much-talked-about divorce took place in 1999, leaving her with a settlement of US$2.5 billion plus US$100 million a year for 13 years. That was a colossal amount of money for the 90s, and she still ought to have plenty to go round today but nevertheless filed for bankruptcy in 2018. Besides a generally profligate lifestyle, she has the moniker “Catwoman” for her feline-like features due to years of spending on extensive plastic surgery (surgery she denies having).

Which Hong Kong celebrity couple had the most expensive wedding?

1. Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott, US$38 billion

Jeff Bezos with then-wife MacKenzie Scott. Photo: @SunSentinel/Twitter

He is a front-runner in almost everything, divorce included. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ 2019 split from wife MacKenzie Scott was the most expensive in history, so far. The separation from Bezos may or may not have left her dejected, but it surely left her rich as Scott received US$35.6 billion in Amazon stock. That made her the third-wealthiest woman in the world at the time, a position she retains today after considerable gains in the value of the stock that at one point took her wealth to over US$62 billion.

Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Luxurylaunches.

Fame and celebrity

Retaining a huge shareholding in Amazon has seen Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott become one of the richest women in the world
Rupert Murdoch’s ex Anna Maria Mann received a multibillion-dollar payout in 1999, while Tiger Woods dug deep for Elin Nordegren in 2010