💎 Most expensive divorces: Wildenstein's $2.5B tops our ranking

Four of the seven carry a dollar figure on record. The other three rank on what was filed, frozen or reported. 📌

By , money desk · Desk editor Laima Ērkšķe-Kreicberga · · 5 min read

Wedding ringsRANKEDPhoto: Glen McCallum glen_mccallum · CC0

Photo: Glen McCallum glen_mccallum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Desaturated and cropped by MrScandal.

What we know

  • Fox News reports Alec Wildenstein's 1999 divorce paid his ex-wife roughly $2.5 billion, a record-breaker at the time; he died in 2008.
  • The Wall Street Journal reports an Oklahoma judge ordered Harold Hamm to pay about $975 million, and that his ex-wife rejected the check, as lawyers for both sides confirmed.
  • The New York Daily News reports Amy Irving received a $100 million settlement from Steven Spielberg; the pre-nup was reportedly scribbled on a napkin.
  • El País English reports the Cameron-Hamilton separation ended in a record $50 million settlement for Linda Hamilton.
  • Five of the nine entries have no money figure on record in the sources read.

A divorce can only be ranked by price if someone wrote the price down, and only four of these seven have one on record. The rest rank on what was filed, frozen or reported. MissFortune ran the numbers; the order below is the MrScandal Scandal Score, not a matter of taste. Where a figure comes from a press report rather than a court, the entry says who reported it.

RankWhoYearScandal ScoreMoney on recordRecordWhy it ranks
1Alec Wildenstein199985$2.5 billion (1999), about $4.9 billion in 2026 dollarsAdjudicatedLargest figure on record, decided case
2Harold Hamm201575$975 million (2015), about $1.4 billion in 2026 dollarsAdjudicatedDecided case, plus a share-price drop on record
3Dmitry Rybolovlev200853No figure on recordFiledAsset freeze and property claims on record, no amount
4Bernie Ecclestone201646No figure on recordReportedReported only; ranks on attention in the week it broke
5Mel Gibson200933No figure on recordFiledFiled petition, no amount on record
6Steven Spielberg198927$100 million divorce settlement, about $262 million in 2026 dollarsReportedLarge reported figure, press-reported only
7James Cameron202315$50 million settlement, about $54.2 million in 2026 dollarsReportedReported settlement figure, press-reported only
01

Alec Wildenstein: the settlement that set the record

Fox News reports that Jocelyn Wildenstein took home roughly $2.5 billion after her 1999 divorce from art dealer Alec Wildenstein, in a settlement that was a record-breaker at the time. Alec Wildenstein died in 2008, and the Fox piece carries no comment from him on the figure. In 2026 dollars the ranking puts it near $4.9 billion. Investopedia gives the terms: a flat $2.3 billion plus $100 million a year for 13 years, $3.8 billion in all by its count, finalized in 1999 after two years of negotiations.

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02

Harold Hamm: a nearly $1 billion decree, and a returned check

The Wall Street Journal reports that an Oklahoma judge ordered Hamm, chief executive of Continental Resources, to pay his former wife Sue Ann Arnall nearly $1 billion at the end of a divorce that ran 2 1/2 years. She rejected the check for roughly $975 million, and lawyers for both sides confirmed it. The ranking's fallout record notes his controlling 68 percent stake in Continental Resources was at stake in the proceedings, and that the company's shares fell 2.9 percent after the divorce was confirmed.

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03

Dmitry Rybolovlev: assets frozen, no figure on record

The Guardian reported in 2013 that Elena Rybolovleva obtained a Swiss court order freezing her ex-husband's assets there, as she pursues a settlement proportionate to his wealth. The ranking logs a Palm Beach mansion disputed in the claim and a 15 Central Park West penthouse claimed in a divorce filing. Rybolovlev told L'Equipe that he was defending his family's interests.

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04

Bernie Ecclestone: a divorce mentioned in passing

A 2016 BBC News report, written about an unrelated reported kidnapping in Brazil, states that Ecclestone divorced his former wife of 25 years, Slavica Radic, and married Fabiana Flosi in 2012. The BBC gives no settlement figure, and the divorce terms are not in the sources read. The report adds that Ecclestone had not commented on the reports it covered.

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05

Mel Gibson: the filing, and a joint statement

TMZ reported on April 13, 2009 that Robyn Gibson filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court after 28 years of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences". She sought spousal support, attorneys' fees and custody arrangements. The couple's joint statement said: "Throughout our marriage and separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity of our family and will continue to do so." No settlement amount appears in the source.

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06

Steven Spielberg: a $100 million figure and a napkin

The New York Daily News reported in 2014 that Amy Irving "scored a $100 million divorce settlement" from Steven Spielberg, after about four years of marriage. The paper says their pre-nup reportedly did not hold up because it was scribbled on a napkin and Irving had no legal representation when she signed it. The paper calls the settlement one of the largest in Hollywood at that time; neither side is quoted on the figure.

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07

James Cameron: $50 million, per El País

El País English reported in July 2023 that the Cameron-Hamilton separation made headlines and resulted in a record $50 million settlement for Linda Hamilton. The ranking puts that near $54.2 million in 2026 dollars. The article does not quote Cameron on the figure, and no court document is among the sources read.

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Why other lists show bigger numbers: the Money column counts only figures found in the sources this ranking opened. Press estimates run higher for several names here, and Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, whose terms were never set out by a court, rank first and second on our dollar list of the most expensive divorces ever.

How the score works: https://mrscandal.com/pantheon/methodology

Earlier on file: Divorce settlement fights: Hamm's returned check, Irving's 'lie'

The Alec Wildenstein file

Last entry 1999
  1. Reported

    Divorce settlement reported at roughly $2.5 billion for Jocelyn Wildenstein, per Fox News. Divorce settlement fights: Hamm's returned check, Irving's 'lie'

On file: The Alec Wildenstein file · The Dmitry Rybolovlev file · The Harold Hamm file · The James Cameron file · The Mel Gibson file · The Steven Spielberg file

The Ledger

On the record

  • A court decided two of the seven: Wildenstein (1999) and Hamm (2015), the latter an Oklahoma judge's order for about $975 million.
  • Four entries carry a dollar figure; Rybolovlev's Swiss asset freeze and Gibson's filing are on record without one.

Still rumour

  • The Spielberg ($100 million) and Cameron ($50 million) figures rest on press reports; neither man is quoted on them in the sources read.
  • No settlement amount for Rybolovlev, Ecclestone or Gibson is in the documents read.

That's the record. The rest is rumour. - MissFortune

Next on the docket

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