Top 5 Divorce Settlements of All Time

At some point during the divorce process, husband and wife (often with the help of their lawyers) create a divorce settlement. This document is meant to serve as a legal outline of which resources and responsibilities are given to each spouse. Divorce settlements often define child custody arrangements, set spousal support, and resolve property issues. In some divorces, the details of the settlement are argued until the very last day of the proceedings, while other couples create the settlement early on in the process. Although most lawyers and couples work together to find a settlement that equally benefits both parties, some divorce settlements become skewed towards one of the spouses, as evident in the Top 5 Divorce Settlements of all Time. Read on to find out the details of these famously crazy divorces.

#5: Paul McCartney and Heather Mills – $48.6 million dollars

The former Beatle divorced his wife, a model and activist, after less than a decade of marriage. In total the divorce cost him almost $50 million. The proceeding gained world wide attention because of the mudslinging and ridiculous requests involved. For example, Mills originally asked for $250 million dollars from McCartney, while Sir Paul offered only $30 million. Despite having a daughter together, the two were repeatedly at each other’s throats. He said that she bugged his phone to track his calls and she said that he purposely hindered her career.

#4: Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison – $85 million dollars

Despite their attempts at reconciliation, Ford and Mathison filed for divorce in 2004 after 21 years of marriage. Sources say that the Indiana Jones star’s depression and partying ways led to the divorce. Whatever the reasons behind the split, Mathison received $85 million dollars from her ex-husband. The most unique thing about this divorce settlement was that Mathison continued to receive money from films that Harrison had starred in, even after the their marriage was legally over.

#3: Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving – $100 million dollars

Even though Spielberg and wife Amy signed a prenuptial agreement, Amy was still able to get $100 million out of the divorce settlement. In the court proceedings, she claimed that the pre-nup was not valid because of the circumstances of it’s signing. Because the court nullified the pre-nup, Irving received $100 million from Spielberg, the director of megahits like Jaws and E.T.

#2: Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey – $150 million dollars

Singer Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey married in 1969 and remained together until their divorce in 1994. In the divorce settlement Marcia received $150 million dollars, approximately $5.5 million dollars for every year the two were together. Unlike many Hollywood divorces, the marriage between this couple ended on relatively good terms. Diamond famously said that Marcia was “worth every penny”.

#1: Michael Jordan and Juanita Jordan – $168 million dollars

Citing “irreconcilable differences” Michael and Juanita Jordan split in 2006. In the divorce settlement Juanita was awarded almost $170 million dollars and the two decided to share custody of their 3 children. Jordan, the famous basketball player, contributed to the Chicago Bulls winning 6 NBA titles.