With Jensen Huang’s personal life suddenly the internet’s favourite subject, it is worth remembering what actually happens when the marriages of the ultra-rich come apart: some of the largest private transfers of wealth ever recorded, settled in a courtroom rather than a boardroom. Here are the biggest, with the usual warning that figures are widely reported estimates, vary by source, and were often paid in stock rather than cash.
The ranking
- Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott, about $38 billion (2019). A 4 percent slice of Amazon, and the largest divorce settlement on record by a mile. She then gave much of it away faster than he earned it.
- Alec and Jocelyn Wildenstein, $3.8 billion (1999). The art-dealing dynasty split, reportedly with a clause about future cosmetic surgery.
- Rupert and Anna Murdoch, about $1.7 billion (1999). The media baron’s second divorce. He remarried 17 days later.
- Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone, about $1.2 billion (2009). The Formula One boss’s split, for years the largest payout in UK history.
- Harold and Sue Ann Hamm, about $975 million (2015). The oil tycoon wrote a cheque for $974,790,317.77. She reportedly felt short-changed.
- Steve and Elaine Wynn, about $741 million (2010). The casino mogul’s split, paid largely in company stock.
- Mel and Robyn Gibson, about $425 million (2011). No prenup; she reportedly took half of everything.
The asterisk
The biggest number that did not stick belongs to Dmitry Rybolovlev. A Swiss court initially awarded his ex-wife a record $4.5 billion in 2014, before an appeal slashed it to around $604 million. A reminder that the headline figure and the final cheque are not always the same thing.
We have also left out the viral “$76 billion Bill and Melinda Gates” figure doing the rounds, because it was never a real settlement. Their terms were never disclosed; the number is a rough guess based on their combined fortune.
And where would Jensen rank?
To be clear: Huang has filed nothing, no numbers are public, and this is pure idle speculation. But with an estimated net worth north of $150 billion, almost all of it in Nvidia stock, even a modest split would make the Bezos settlement look thrifty. If it ever came to it, the top of this list would need rewriting. For now, watch this space.
Figures are reported estimates and vary by source. Sources: Forbes; CNBC; Statista; Man of Many.