3 Celebrities That Lost Over $1 Billion in Divorce

With alimony tax laws changing on January 1, 2019, many couples are rushing to get their divorces finalized before the end of the year. Some people may have huge estates to divide, and others might just have a family pet. Here's a list of three high-profile divorces that lost over $1 billion in the great settlement divide.

Adnan and Soraya Khashoggi

Though this isn't exactly a celebrity couple, their nephews are, and so they made the list. Adnan's brother's son is the recently deceased Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. Adnan's sister's son is Dode Fayed, famed lover of Princess Diana.

Adnan Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian business person and arms dealer. His businesses dealt mostly in commercial construction, but he was also a successful deal broker crossing various industries, which was probably how he made his foray into the Iran-Contra affairs as a key-middleman. He and Soraya divorced in 1980 after 20 years of marriage. Though the settlement was for $874 million, this adjusts to $2.2 billion in today's dollars.

Rupert Murdoch and Anna Torv

Rupert Murdoch is an Australian-American media mogul and a self-made billionaire. He's most known for being the Chairman and CEO of News Corp and many of the various companies that fall under that umbrella, including Fox News and 21st Century Fox. In 1999, he and Anna Torv divorced after 31 years of marriage. At the time, the settlement was worth $1.7 billion, which adjusts to $2.5 billion in today's dollars. Seventeen days after divorcing Anna, he married his third wife, Wendi Deng. He is currently married to Jerry Hall, ex-partner of Mick Jaggar.

Bernie Ecclestrone and Slavica Radic

Bernie Ecclestrone is the former CEO of Formula One Group. Though no longer the CEO, he is still Chairman Emeritus of the Group. In 1985, he married Slavica Radic, a Yugoslavian model; their union lasted 23 years. They reportedly settled amicably, for an estimated $1.2 billion, which adjusts to $1.4 billion in today's dollars.

Though there are undoubtedly larger settlements, their numbers have not hit the press due to being kept out of court documents. One can only wonder how much Anne Wojcicki received in her divorce, after her husband, Google founder Sergey Brin, admitted to dating a co-worker 14 years his younger. At the time, Brin had an estimated net worth of $22.8 billion and the couple had been married for eight years and had two children.

Related Resources:

• Lisa Osbourne Gets 'Sizable Cash Payout' in Divorce Settlement (FindLaw Celebrity Justice)
• Brad Pitt Wins Custody Battle (FindLaw Celebrity Justice)
• What's a Celebrity Divorce Auction? (FindLaw Celebrity Justice)