Following up on our report from last week, a judge has awarded Heather Mills a total of $48.6 million (24.3 million British pounds) in her divorce from pop legend Paul McCartney. The judgment, made public today by the court, gives Mills a lump sum of $33 million and allows her to keep $15.6 million in assets she already holds. McCartney is also ordered to pay the nanny and school expenses of the couple’s four year old daughter Beatrice and provide Mills with approximately $70,000 in child support each year.

The judge’s summary of the decision, made available to the media, stated that Mills asked for approximately $250 million and McCartney offered about $32 million. The judge also stated that he found, based on the evidence presented to him, that McCartney was worth about $800 million and not the $1.5 billion figure which has been previously reported. He also indicated that he did not consider the conduct of the parties in making his decision, as it was irrelevant.

After the ruling was made official this morning, Mills told the media that she was very happy with the decision but that she planned to appeal the decision to make the full detailed ruling public. While the court did release the short summary, the full decision has not yet been released pending Mills’ appeal.

Surely of special interest to Mills, the judge’s order also prohibits either side from publicly speaking about the case, Beatrice or “any marital confidences.” It appears then that both Mills and McCartney will not be allowed to profit from any “tell-all” interview or book deal.

British media report that the most expensive divorce judgment in the U.K. was 48 million British pounds, awarded to the wife of an insurance millionaire after a 28 year marriage.

With all the recent talk about how much Heather Mills stands to get in her divorce from Paul McCartney, we got to wondering what the other biggest divorce settlements were. There are a lot of lists out there, but we couldn’t find one as comprehensive as the one we’ve put together here.

It’s not surprising to discover that many of the marriages on this list were fairly long term (at least for Hollywood). In general, the longer the marriage, the larger the divorce settlement or award will be - for this group, at least. In the longer marriages, there was more time to accumulate marital wealth (also known as community property). For the shorter marriages on this list, the length of the marriage might not have made a big difference because it was the timing of the marriage that resulted in a big payout. If a celebrity has a few big hits at the box office or on the radio during a short coupling, the marital assets earned during that time could be substantial. For a great example of this, check out the Linda Hamilton/James Cameron divorce discussed below.

Celebrity Divorces: the Rich and Famous

• $3.5 million: actor/comedian Jim Carrey and Melissa Womer, his first wife. Carrey and Womer were married for eight years, from 1987 to 1995. They have one child together. The couple met and married before Carrey hit it big in Hollywood. During their marriage, Carrey found comedic success and starred in the television show In Living Color and in movies Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb & Dumber.
• $6 million: actor Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Nielsen. Stallone and Nielsen were married for only two years, but those two years saw the success of Stallone’s Rocky IV and Rambo films.
• $12 million: Stallone and his first wife Sasha. Stallone was married to Sasha for 11 years, from 1974 to 1985. They have two sons. After their divorce, Stallone almost immediately married Brigitte Nielsen. It was during his marriage to Sasha that Stallone rocketed to fame and fortune with the first three Rocky movies and the first Rambo movie, First Blood.
• $15-$25 million: rock legend Mick Jagger and model Jerry Hall. Jagger and Hall met in 1977. They had two children together before marrying in 1990. They divorced in 1999 after Hall found out that Jagger fathered a child by someone else. Jagger was successful in challenging their Balinese marriage ceremony and was able to have the marriage annulled. Hall still got a substantial settlement in the neighborhood of $15 - 25 million. Jagger’s net worth at the time was reportedly about $325 million (much of this though was likely made prior to the Jagger-Hall relationship and certainly before their marriage).
• $20 million: singer Lionel Richie and his second wife, Diane Richie. Lionel met Diane when he was 36 and she was 18. They reportedly began a relationship shortly thereafter, while he was still married to his first wife Brenda (Nicole Richie’s mother). Brenda and Lionel divorced in 1993. Lionel and Diane had a child in 1994, married in 1995, then had another child in 1998. They divorced in 2004, in a very public and bitter battle.
• $20 million: television host Johnny Carson and Joanna Carson, his third wife. Johnny and Joanna were married for 11 years, 1972 to 1983, but had no children together. The couple lived and divorced in California, a community property state, where the assets accumulated during the marriage are divided equally between the divorcing spouses.
• $20 million: rock star Bruce Springsteen and Julianne Phillips. Springsteen married the relatively unknown model/actress in 1985, at the height of his commercial popularity following the Born in the USA album. They divorced in 1989. He immediately began seeing his bandmate and future second wife Patti Scialfa. This short term marriage was timed right (or wrong, if you’re Springsteen) because of the vast amounts of money brought in by Springsteen between ‘85 and ‘89.
• $25 million: actor Clint Eastwood and Maggie, his wife of 31 years. Clint and Maggie Eastwood were married from 1953 to 1984. They were married before he became a star. Over the years, Maggie endured Clint’s numerous affairs. He even had a child by another woman while married to Maggie. She went on to have two children by Clint and didn’t divorce him for another 20 years. During their marriage, Clint became a huge international movie star.

And those don’t even crack the top 15… Continue reading "The Biggest Celebrity Divorce Awards Ever"

Heather Mills will be a very wealthy woman after her divorce from music legend Paul McCartney is final. Exactly how rich is yet to be seen but may be discovered as soon as Monday. British media reported on Friday that the judge who heard the McCartney-Mills divorce last month has sent a preliminary judgment to both parties. The judgment is expected to be entered on Monday, March 17, with a summary to be released to the public. [3/17/08 Update: McCartney-Mills Final Divorce Settlement]

Mills will reportedly receive around $50.8 million (£25 million) in property distribution. Despite spending a full week in court trying to come to a settlement agreement last month, Mills and McCartney could not reach an agreement. The case was ultimately given to the judge to decide. The court’s judgment will be binding. Either party could appeal, although the appeals process would likely make confidential details of the divorce public. Continue reading "McCartney-Mills Divorce Decision Reportedly Will Be Released Monday"

Also See: The Biggest Divorce Awards in History

Ex Beatle, Paul McCartney married model Heather Mills in June 2002, and had one daughter together - Beatrice. McCartney and Mills separated in 2006 and have been involved in a contentious divorce battle in the English Courts. Mills, whose original legal team is no longer involved, is now representing herself in the complicated divorce proceedings - almost unheard of because she stands to receive a reported £200 million (about $400 million). McCartney’s estate is estimated to be worth about £750 million (about $1.5 billion). It is likely that the public will never really know exactly what Mills will receive in the divorce because in Britain all divorce proceedings are closed to the public. Also, it is highly likely that the parties will enter into a confidentiality agreement in which they agree to keep the terms of the award secret. But many commentators have speculated that this could be the largest divorce award in British history! [3/17/2008 Update: McCartney-Mills Final Divorce Settlement]

Why Didn’t McCartney Have a Prenup?

Continue reading "One of the Most Expensive Divorces Ever: Paul McCartney and Heather Mills"