When the dust settles and ink dries on the Bill and Melinda Gates divorce settlement it will go down as one of the most expensive celebrity divorces in the history of marital bliss.
If you like to bet on these kinds of things, it will almost certainly be No. 2 all time.
Both are going to walk away ridiculously wealthy, that’s a given, but how many billions will Bill’s soon to be ex have written on her check, and where exactly where it fit on the all-time list?
File this under “After the Love is Gone.”
There’s been some expensive uncoupling over the years. Here’s some of the most interesting.
Bob Johnson and Sheila Crump Johnson
2002
TV mogul Bob Johnson and his wife Sheila got married in 1969 and divorced in 2002.
They launched BET, Black Entertainment Television.
In 2000 they became the first African-American billionaires.
Sheila got $400 million in the divorce.
Fun fact: Sheila married the judge who presided over their case in divorce court.
Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore
2006
This one rules Hollywood as the largest divorce payment settlement in the entertainment world.
Mel forked over half of his worth, $425 million.
Adnan Khashoggi and Soraya Khasshoggi
1980
Okay, this one you may not have heard of, but it was massive.
He was a Saudi Arabian arms dealer and she was a 20-year old from England.
Together they reportedly owned 17 homes, three yachts and three planes.
She got $874 million in 1980, equivalent to $2 billion in 2021.
Steve and Elaine Wynn
2010
Wynn is the Las Vegas casino mogul and they tried to make their marriage work twice. They were married from 1963 to 1986 the first time around, than another 5 years from 86-91.
Both ended badly. The house paid out $1 billion on this one.
Rupert Murdoch and Anna Torv
1999
Murdoch was rich 20 years ago. The media mogul from Australia paid his journalist ex-wife $1.7 billion.
Alec Wildenstein and Jocelyn Wildenstein
1999
This was the biggest divorce settlement before Jeff and MacKenzie Gates.
He was a French-American art dealer and businessman and their settlement was unique. $2.5 billion off the top, then $100 million installments for the next 13 years.
Total cost was $3.8 billion in 1999, the same as $5.7 billion today.
Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos
2019
38.3 billion.
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