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Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving split after four years of marriage back in 1989. Irving was awarded $100 million, half his net worth at the time, after a California judge refused to recognize the couple's prenuptial agreement scrawled on a napkin.
The singer-songwriter famously divorced his ex-wife Marcia Murphey in 1994 after 25 years of marriage. Diamond gave up $150 million, which was half of his estate, in the divorce but reportedly said Murphey was "worth every penny."
Schwarzenegger kept many secrets from his ex-wife Maria Shriver, including his numerous affairs, so it’s no surprise the couple split after a 25-year marriage. The actor and former governor of California reportedly dragged out his divorce, refusing to sign the divorce agreement for years. Shriver eventually walked away with $250 million, more than half of their $400 million fortune. The couple not having a prenup in place could have been part of the reason for the delay.
Back in 2000, then power couple Bob Johnson and Sheila Crump Johnson became the first African-American billionaires. However, in line with the saying that money can’t buy happiness, the couple divorced two years later, with Sheila walking away with a lofty $400 million.
Mel and Robyn Gibson split in 2006 after 26 years of marriage. The movie star and film director and his ex initially kept mum on details of what caused the split; however, he later admitted that he was likely responsible for the marriage not working out. Robyn made off with $425 million.
Unlike some of the others on the list, cell phone industry pioneer Craig McCaw and newspaper publisher Wendy McCaw amicably divorced in 1997. The settlement was estimated to exceed $460 million in Nextel stock.
Not far behind is Harold Hamm, who wrote his now ex-wife Sue Ann Arnall a $945 million check back in 2015. The oil tycoon’s ex-spouse initially rejected the settlement offer but quickly changed her mind, to end what was a bitter years long divorce.
Another one to part with over a billion dollars, and also one of the most influential men in the world due to his ownership of a number of the world’s newspapers and TV channels, Rupert Murdoch parted with $1.7 billion when he split from Anna Maria Torv back in 1999.
Alec Wildenstein, a renowned art dealer, coughed up $3.8 billion in his 1999 divorce from socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein. The messy divorce received plenty of press, with Jocelyn being told that she wasn’t allowed to spend any of the money on any more cosmetic surgery, something she’s famous for.
Jeff Bezos shelled out a whopping $35 billion for a divorce settlement with his former wife MacKenzie Scott. The founder of online retail giant Amazon split with his then wife after 26 years of marriage. Fear not though, for Bezos, the world’s richest man who’s reportedly worth an estimated $200 billion, that’s just spare change.
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