1.
In 2021, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage. It came as a shock, given how long they had been together. Their split resulted in an estimated $76 billion settlement, making it the most expensive divorce in history. Instead of one lump sum, the settlement largely involved the transfer of stock and assets, with Melinda receiving billions in shares of companies like Microsoft and Canadian National Railway. Despite the financial split, both have continued to co-run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, maintaining their joint commitment to global health and education.
2.
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren divorced in 2010, after a massive scandal (complete with a Taiwanese news cast animating it) in which Woods admitted to multiple affairs. The revelation dominated headlines and tarnished his image. Their split resulted in a divorce settlement estimated to be around $100 million. Despite the public fallout, both have since moved on, Woods returned to golf success, and Nordegren has largely stayed out of the spotlight while focusing on raising their kids.
3.
Steven Spielberg and actor Amy Irving divorced in 1989 after four years of marriage. Though they had dated from 1976 through 1980, before reconnecting in 1984. In fact, the break in their relationship cost her the role of Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Though Irving had the last laugh because the two had drafted their prenup on a scrap of paper (reportedly a napkin) without lawyers present, which the court later ruled invalid. As a result, Irving was awarded around $100 million (which is a lot of money now but was a fortune at the time), making it one of Hollywood’s most expensive divorces of its era.
4.
In October 2000, country megastar Garth Brooks announced he and his college sweetheart, Sandy Mahl, would be divorcing. After 15 years of marriage, the divorce was finalized in December 2001. The split cost Brooks reportedly $125 million. In the 2019 documentary Garth Brooks: The Road I’m On, Mahl said that his booming music career, his spending long stretches of time on the road, and fame largely contributed to their divorce.
5.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan and his wife, Juanita Vanoy, divorced in 2006 after 17 years of marriage. The settlement, worth about $168 million, is one of the largest sports celebrity divorce payouts. Their split followed years of reported marital strain, including an earlier divorce filing in 2002 that was later withdrawn before they ultimately decided to part ways for good. Vanoy would later not participate in Jordan’s acclaimed 2020 documentary The Last Dance. Their daughter, Jasmine, when asked, said, “At the end of the day, if you’d ask my mom, she lived it. …So no, I don’t think there’s a need to rehash and go through it all.”
6.
Harrison Ford and screenwriter Melissa Mathison (best-known for writing the screenplay to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) married in 1983 and were together for nearly two decades before separating in 2000. Their divorce was finalized in 2004, and because they didn’t have a prenup, Mathison was entitled to a significant portion of Ford’s earnings during their marriage. She reportedly walked away with around $85 million. But, also as part of her divorce settlement, she negotiated for a piece of the royalties — for things like DVD sales or TV broadcasts — that Ford would earn in the future from the films he made during their marriage.
7.
Rupert Murdoch and his second wife, Anna Maria dePeyster (formerly Anna Torv), were married for 32 years before their marriage ended in 1999. Their divorce was among the most expensive in history, with Anna reportedly receiving $1.7 billion*, including $100 million in cash!!! Just 17 days after the divorce was finalized, Murdoch married his third wife, Wendi Deng.
8.
Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore married in 1980, which was long before Gibson became one of Hollywood’s biggest and highest-paid stars. After nearly 30 years together, Moore filed for divorce in 2009 following Gibson’s highly publicized scandals. With no prenuptial agreement in place and because Moore filed in California, she was legally entitled to half of his fortune earned during their marriage. The settlement reportedly cost Gibson around $425 million.
9.
And lastly, in 2019, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and novelist MacKenzie Scott finalized their divorce after 25 years of marriage. The two did not have a prenup, and the settlement, worth around $38 billion, instantly made her one of the wealthiest women in the world. She received 25% of the couple’s Amazon stock holdings, while Bezos retained voting control of the shares to maintain stability at the company. Following the split, Scott pledged to give away much of her fortune, and so far she has given away around $19 billion.
