IN PICS! Most costliest divorce settlements of the world

The news that Bill and Melinda Gates are to divorce after 27 years of marriage has come as a shock in the worlds of philanthropy and technology. The Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist and his wife have amassed a $130bn fortune, placing them in the top five richest couples in the world. It is likely to involve vast sums of money. We look back at some of the most expensive divorce settlements in history.

Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott met while working at hedge fund DE Shaw, and Scott subsequently helped Bezos launch global marketplace Amazon. In April 2019, the couple announced the terms of their divorce. She received a four per cent stake in Amazon worth more than $35bn, the value of which has rocketed over the past year.

Alec and Jocelyn Wildenstein: $2.5bn: Prior to the Bezos/Scott settlement, Jocelyn Wildenstein’s settlement of $2.5bn and $100 million each year for 13 years afterwards from her billionaire art dealer husband Alec in 1999 was the biggest in history.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Anna Maria Mann married in the 1960s and were together for 32 years, in which time they had three children together. The couple split in 1998 and divorced the following year, at which point Mann received $1.7bn in the settlement, which included $110m in cash.

Bernie Ecclestone and Slavica Radić, 2009 — $1.2 billion. Formula One executive Bernie Ecclestone, one of the richest people in the United Kingdom, divorced Croatian model Slavica Radić in 2009.

Steve Wynn and Elaine Wynn, got married not once but twice. They were first married from 1963 to 1986. Then it was from 1991 to 2010. The second time they divorced, it was too expensive. According to one estimate, their settlement was $1 billion, or 70 billion, 480 million and 5 million, as of now.

In 2012, Harold Hamm, the CEO of Continental Resources, and his wife Sue Ann Hamm filed for divorce after 24 years of marriage. In November 2014, Hamm was ordered to pay his ex-wife nearly $1bn, with CNBC noting that $322.7m of the fortune was expected to be paid that same year.

In 1961, Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi arms dealer, married Sandra Daly, a 20-year-old British woman. Daly later converted and became Suraya. The couple divorced in 1974. She received $ 874 million in settlement, or Rs 61 billion, Rs 59 crore and Rs 51 lakh, respectively.

Elena Rebelvalen had filed for divorce from Russian businessman Dmitry Rebelvalev. She was accused of betraying Dmitry. The court had earlier ordered $ 4.5 billion in settlement in 2014. However, she received only $ 604 million after one appeal. At present, the amount is Rs 42 billion, Rs 56 crore and Rs 69 lakh.

Crack McCaw, a big name in the cellphone industry, and Wendy McCaw, a newspaper publisher, divorced in 1997. Their settlement amounted to $ 460 million.

Mel Gibson and Robin More divorced in 2006. They settled for $ 425 million.

Bon Johnson and Sheila Johnson started television network. He then became the world's first African-American billionaire. They divorced in 2002. This time, he paid $ 400 million for the settlement.