The Most Breathtakingly Expensive Celeb Divorce Settlements

Although when people get married they promise to stand by one another’s side in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, that’s not always the case. Unfortunately, divorce is a reality that some marriages must go through. When divorce happens, one of the things couples has to deal with is the settlement. When you’re a mega-wealthy celebrity, these settlements tend to get quite hefty. Here are the most insanely expensive divorce settlements ever.

Reba McEntire & Narvel Blackstock – $47.5 Million

Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock announced their divorce in 2015, leaving fans completely shocked. Although they separated, the two remains on good terms and supportive on one another. It is assumed that their assets were divided evenly.

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt – $400 Million

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s was perhaps one of the most talked about celebrity divorce of all time. The two share custody of their children and in 2019, the two were officially divorced. Their settlement is estimated to be somewhere around $400 million total.

Kevin Costner & Cindy Silva – $80 Million

After 16 years of marriage and sharing two children, Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva decided to officially separate. There were rumors that he was not faithful, and Costner was forced to pay about $80 million to Silva. He later admitted that he had fathered a child with socialite Bridget Rooney.

Alec & Jocelyn Wildenstein – $2.5 Billion

French businessman and billionaire Alec Wildenstein was forced to pay his former wife Jocelyn about $2.5 billion when they divorced. Jocelyn is best known for her many cosmetic procedures, which have cost an estimated $2 billion total.

Michael & Diandra Douglas – $45 Million

Michael Douglas and Diandra got married in 1977. Two two had a son together, but 18 years later, the Diandra filed for divorce. She ended up receiving half of Michael’s net worth at the time, which came out to about $45 million.

Robert & Sheila Johnson – $400 million

Co-founder of TV channel BET Robert Johnson separated from his wife of 33 years in 2002. In the divorce settlement, Shiela received about $400 million. In 2000, Robert sold BET to Viacom, earning him $3 billion.

Bernie & Slavica Ecclestone – $1 Billion

Bernie Ecclestone and Slavica Ecclestone separated and she received about $1 billion in the divorce settlement. She wisely made some investments with the money, and has since been able to turn that billion into $1.6 billion.

Rupert Murdoch & Anna Maria Torv – $1.2 Billion

Rupert Murdoch and Anna Marria Torv were married for 32 years before they decided to divorce in 1999. Murdoch’s net worth at the time was about $8 billion, and Torv wound up with about $1.2 billion as a settlement.

Heidi Klum & Seal – $70 Million

German supermodel Heidi Klum shared that Seal’s temper grew to be out of control and she was fearful for her children. The messy breakup ended up costing her $70 million despite their prenuptial agreement.

Mel Gibson was having quite the rough year in 2006, following hi DUI arrest, his wife of 26 years, Robyn Moore, decided she had had enough and filed for divorce. The couple did not have a prenuptial agreement, and Moore ended up getting half of Gibson’s fortune, which came out to about $425 million.

Frank & Jamie McCourt – $130 Million

Frank McCourt is best known for being the owner of both Fox Entertainment Group and Dodgers Stadium. He and his former wife Jamie decided to get divorced in 2011. The divorce settlement Jamie received came out to about $130 million.

Ron Perelman & Ellen Barkin – $20 Million

Ron Perelman married his fourth wife Ellen Barkin in June 2000. Just 6 years later, the two filed for divorce, and it ended up costing him. Ellen earned about $20 million after selling jewelry given to her by Perelman.

Greg Norman & Laura Andrassy – $103 Million

Golf star Greg Norman and his wife of 25 years decided to call it quits in 2008 after he left her for tennis star Chris Evert. Norman ended up having to pay Andrassy about $103 million for this decision.

Johnny Carson & Joanna Holland – $20 Million

Johnny Carson, who ended up having four marriages over the course of his life, divorced Joanna Holland at the peak of his career. Since he was earning about $15 million per year, he was able to afford to pay her about $20 million in the settlement.

Adnan Khashoggi & Soraya Khashoggi – $874 Million

Adnan Khashoggi, Saudi Arabian billionaire, was married to his wife Soraya for many years before the two decided to split up. Once considered one of the wealthiest men in the world, Khashoggi ended up paying Soraya about $874 million in the divorce settlement.

Colin Firth & Livia Giuggioli – Approx. $12.5 Million

Colin Firth and Livia Giuggioli were married for 22 years when things turned sour and Giuggioli admitted that she had engaged in an affair with her childhood friend, Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia. Their estimated divorce settlement is about $12.5 million, half of Firth’s net worth at the time.

Kelsey & Camille Grammer – $30 Million

Kelsey and Camille Grammer got married in 1997 and ended up having two children together. 14 years later, the two decided to call it quits and Camille ended up receiving about $30 million in the settlement. She is now a cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. 

John & Beverly Charman -$95 Million

John Charman married his childhood sweetheart Beverly when he was absolutely broke. Over the course of their 29 year marriage, he ended up becoming one of the wealthier men in London. Beverly left her job to become a homemaker. After they divorced, she ended up with a $95 million settlement.

Samathur Li-kan & Florence Tsang-Chiu-wing -$154 Million

Samathur Li-kan is one of Hong Kong’s powerful billionaires, earning his money as a real estate mogul. He and Florence Tsang-Chiu-wing ended up getting divorced in 2008 when she refused to have an abortion. A Hong Kong judge ordered him to pay his ex about $154 million.

Roman & Irina Malandina – $300 Million

Russian billionaire Roman Malandina was married to ex-wife Irina from 1991 until 2007. His net worth was about $8 billion at the same, so Irina was awarded $300 million in the divorce settlement, which included money and also lavish homes in London and Moscow.

Jesse Williams & Aryn Drake-Lee – Approx. $4 Million

Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams and  real-estate broker Aryn Drake-Lee confirmed that they were divorcing amicably. Although no official amount was disclosed, the settlement is estimated to be about $4 million.

Ted Dansen & Casey Coates – $30 Million

After meeting in 1976, Ted Dansen and Casey Coates seemed like a match made in heaven. However, Dansen ended up having an affair with Whoopi Goldberg, ending his 15 year marriage. At the time, the divorce settlement of $30 million made headlines at one of the most expensive Hollywood divorces.

Harrison Ford & Melissa Mathison – $118 Million

Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison were a classic Hollywood couple for 17 years. The two share two children, but in 2001 the two ended up getting divorced. Without a prenuptial agreement, Mathison ended up receiving about $118 million as a settlement.

Johnny Depp & Amber Heard – $6.8 Million

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s marriage ended bitterly, with many accusations of abuse from both sides. Amber received $6 million in the settlement, which she ended up donating to charities.

Rupert Murdoch & Wendi Deng – $1.8 Million

Rupert Murdoch was just 17 days post divorce when he ended up marrying Wendi Deng. The CEO of News Corporation then decided to divorce Deng in 2013 and ended up handing over a $1.8 million settlement.

James Cameron & Linda Hamilton – $50 Million

James Cameron is best known for direct hit films like Titanic and Avatar. While Titanic was a wild success, behind the scenes Cameron engaged in an affair. Just days after he won an Oscar for the film, he and Linda Hamilton announced their divorce, in which she received a $50 million settlement.

Alec Baldwin & Kim Bassinger – Approx. $3 Million

Alec Bladwin and Kim Bassinger were married for 9 years before they began a bitter divorce process. Kim blocked visitation rights to Alec, preventing him from seeing his daughter. The divorce finally came to an end, with a settlement estimated to be about $3 million.

Steve & Elaine Wynn – $741 million

Steve Wynn and his wife Elaine divorced but then made up and decided to remarry. Unfortunately, the second time around did not go too well either, and their second divorce, which happened in 2010, ended up costing him $741 million total.

Paul McCartney & Heather Mills – $48.6 Million

Former member of the Beatles Paul McCartney married Heather Mills in a lavish wedding in Ireland, which cost about $3.2 million. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last, and the divorce settlement ended up costing McCartney about $48.6 million.

Vladimir Potanin & Natalia Potanina – $7 Billion

Russian billionaire Vladimir has an estimated net worth of about $14 billion. He was married to Natalia Potanina for 30 years before they decided to divorce in 2013. After a long and complicate divorce, Natalia walked away with $7 billion.

Michael Polsky & Maya Polsky – $184 Million

Businessman Michael Polsky is best known for being invovled with SkyGen. He and his ex-wife Maya decided to call it quits in 2003, and the divorce settlement ended up setting Michael back about $184 million.

Charles Fipke & Marlene Fipke – $200 Million

Charles Fipke made a fortune after discovering diamonds in the Northwest Territories in Canada. He and his ex-wife Marlene ended up getting divorced, and she walked away with a $200 million settlement, which became one of the most expensive divorces in Canada.

Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale – $25 Million

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale seemed like rare successful Hollywood marriage, surviving Gavin’s affair. Despite it all, after 20 years of being together and 13 years of marriage, the two divorced, and the settlement ended up about $25 million total. Stefani has since moved on to a relationship with country star Blake Shelton.

Steven Spielberg & Amy Irving – $100 Million

Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving were married for only three and a half years before they decided to end it. Even though Irving ended up with a $100 million settlement, considering the fact that Spielberg is worth $5 billion, that seems like a rather small amount.

Hilary Duff & Mike Comrie – $2.5 Million

Hilary Duff is one of the only child stars of the 2000’s who did not seem to have any scandals. She married Mike Comrie, but sadly their marriage came to an end. Their divorce was a tough one, especially since they share a son, and the settlement ended up at about $2.5 million.

Demi Moore & Bruce Willis – $90 Million

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis’ marriage lasted for 11 years until they divorced in 2000. On the divorce, Bruce said he felt that “he had failed as a father and husband.” Demi ended up with a $90 million settlement and new relationship with the younger actor Ashton Kutcher.

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver – $375 Million

After 25 years of marriage, Maria Shriver found out that then-husband Arnold Schwarzenegger had an affair with their housekeeper, who ended up giving birth to a son fathered by him. Without a prenuptial agreement, Shriver walked away from the marriage with a $375 million settlement.

Harold Hamm & Sue Ann Arnall – $974.8 Million

Harold Hamm made his massive fortune by being in the oil and gas industry. After 24 years of marriage, he divorced wife Sue Ann Arnall in 2012, who ended up with an whopping $974.8 million divorce settlement.

Teddy Landau & Michelle Branch – Approx. $300,000

Michelle Branch is a Grammy winning singer and songwriter. She married her bassist Teddy Landau and their marriage lasted for 11 years. Their divorce ended with a settlement that came out to about $300,000.

Allen And Tawanna Iverson – $32 Million

Basketball star Allen Iverson was married to wife Tawanna for 24 years. Allen reached $150 million in debt, and in divorce court he said: “I don’t even have money for a cheeseburger!” She finally divorced him in 2013 and ended up with $32 million as promised in her prenup.

Madonna & Guy Ritchie – $92 Million

Madonna and Guy Ritchie were married for just seven years before calling it quits. Ritchie lucked out, since the two did not have a prenuptial agreement and he ended up with a massive divorce settlement that came out to somewhere around $92 million.

Dmitry & Elena Rybolovlev – $4.5 Billion

Dmitry and Elana Rybolovlev divorced after being married for 26 years. The divorce was long and bitter, and the process lasted for 6 years. The fight was worth it for Elena, who ended up with a settlement that came out to a whopping $4.5 billion.

Lionel Richie & Diane Richie – $25 Million

Lionel Richie and his second wife Diane were married for seven years before splitting up. The legal battle was very long, but Diana ended up with their $5 million mansion as well as $20 million.

Jeff Bezos And MacKenzie Bezos – $35 Billion

Founder of Amazon Jeff Besoz was married to his wife MacKenzie in 1993, but in 2019, the two broke it off and and got divorced. Seeing as he is the world’s richest man, the divorce settlement ended up being a record breaking $35 billion, and MacKenzie also gets to keep a 4% stake in the company, which is not too shabby at all.

Garth Brooks & Sandy Mahl – $125 Million

Country star Garth Brooks married his college sweetheart Sandy Mahl, but sadly after 15 years of being married, the two decided to split up. Mahl made off with a whopping $125 million divorce settlement.

Neil Diamond & Marcia Murphey – $150 million

Singer Neil Diamond was married to Marcia Murphey for 25 years, and the two shared two children together, but that was not enough for them to make it to the end. After discovering that Diamond was unfaithful, Murphey divorced him and ended up with $150 million. Diamond later said: “she’s worth every penny.”

Jenny from the Bronx married Chris Judd, but the two called it quits just under a year later. The two cited irreconcilable differences as the reason, and it is believed the Lopez ended up handing over about $14 million to Judd.

Although everyone believed Prince Charles and Princess Diana would live happily ever after like the fairytales go, betrayals and affairs led the marriage down the road of divorce. Diana was given about $22 million after the divorce.

Craig McCaw & Wendy Petrak – $450 Million

Craig McCaw sold his company McCaw Cellular to AT&T for about $12 billion. After 21 years of marriage, he and his wife Wendy Petrak divorced, and she ended up with $450 million in cash as a settlement, not too shabby for Petrak.

Tiger Woods & Elin Nordegren – $750 Million

After six years of marriage, it was discovered that Tiger Woods was unfaithful to his wife Elin Nordegren with many other women. After the 2010 divorce, Elin was given a whopping $750 as a settlement for her pain and suffering.

Kenny Rogers is well acquainted with the divorce process, as he has been married five times total. His fourth divorce was the most expensive one, when he was divorcing Marianne Gordon. The 1993 divorce ended when Kenny had to hand over $60 million to Marianne.

Dr. Phil McGraw & Debbie Higgins – Approx. $1 Million

Dr. Phil was married to his high school sweetheart Debbie Higgins for about three years before the two ended up divorcing. Since he had not made it big yet, the divorce cost him about $1 million. Higgins refers to herself as “the secret first wife of Dr. Phil.”

After meeting in 1994, Michael Strahan married Jean Muggli in 1999. The two had many ups and downs during their marriage and finally ended up divorcing. Strahan had to hand over $15 million to Muggli in addition to $18,000 in monthly child support.

Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy married in 1989 and had three children together, Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmine. They first filed for divorce in 2002, reconciled, but later filed for divorce again. In 2006, they officially divorced and Juanita was given a $168 million settlement, the biggest celebrity divorce settlement at the time.

Eddie Murphy was dazzled by model Nicole Mitchell in 1988 and after sharing a daughter together, the two married in 1993. Four kids and 12 years of marriage later, Nicole filed for divorce in 2005. She ended up with a $15 million settlement, and the two have remained friends since their divorce.

Rupert Murdoch & Anna Torv – $1.7 Billion

Anna and Rupert were married for 32 years before deciding to divorce in 1999. Torv received $1.7 billion in assets, of which $110 million was cash. Just 17 days later, Murdoch was remarried to Wendi Deng, then 30 years old.

Boris Berezovsky & Galina Besharova – $160 Million

Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky was married to Galina Besharova from 1991 until they divorced in 2010. At the end of the proceedings, Besharova ended up walking away with $160 million in divorced settlement.

Donald Trump & Ivanna Zelníčková – $25 Million

Way before his presidency, Donald Trump was one of New York’s staples in the celebrity scene. He was married to Czech model Ivanna Zelníčková, with whom he shares three children: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. After his infamous affair with Marla Maples, Trump and Ivanna divorced in 1992, and she ended up with a $25 million settlement.

Mick Jagger & Jerry Hall – $25 Million

Mick Jagger and model Jerry Hall had an unofficial private marriage ceremony in 1990 and later had four children together. During this time, Jagger had an affair with Carla Bruni, who would later become First Lady of France. Once his second affair with model Luciana Gimenez was discovered, his relationship with Hall ended. The marriage was declared void and she received about $25 million.

Slash & Perla Ferrar – $6.6 Million

Slash and Perla Ferrar got married in Hawaii in October 2001. They have two sons together, London Emilio and Cash Anthony. Slash first filed for divorce in 2010 but they couple reconciled. He filed for divorce a second time in 2014, and Ferrar edned up with a $6.6 million settlement in addition to $39,000 monthly payments for child support.