The Sun
USUALLY when couples break-up they squabble over their CD collection or a beloved pet.
But when it comes to the divorces of the super-rich, dividing up assets is an altogether different story.
Former spouses can find themselves stumping up £5 million per year for holidays and fighting over their yachts and private jets.
This week Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was ordered to pay around £550million to his former wife in the largest award of its kind in the UK.
Judge Philip Moor said most of the money awarded to Princess Haya bint al-Hussein – the half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah – is to protect against the “grave risk” posed to them by the sheikh himself.
But Princess Haya, 47, also secured £1.9million for a kitchen extension and pizza oven and £5 million for racehorses.
But she’s not the only one to receive a bumper payout. Here we look inside some of the UK’s most expensive divorces.
Princess Haya bint al-Hussein and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum – £554million
Princess Haya bint al-Hussein won Britain’s biggest divorce settlement after a judge ordered Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum to pay her £554million.
The 72-year-old ruler of Dubai, worth an estimated £10billion, must issue a lump sum of £251.5million within three months for her and their two children’s security.
The settlement also will cover a £10million refurbishment of the family’s home in Kensington – and £1.9million for a kitchen extension and pizza oven at the house.
The award comes after the princess – the half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan – fled the United Arab Emirates in 2019 with their children.
She claimed she was “terrified” of her husband following an affair she had with one of her bodyguards.
The money will cover Haya’s security costs, including £1.5million on armoured vehicles and £64,000 on ‘ballistic blankets and ballistic shields’.
The ruling also set aside £5.1million for holidays, including £1.3million for flights on private planes.
The court heard how before their 2019 divorce around 80 staff worked for Haya and the two youngsters.
They also had access to a Boeing 747 and a £300million superyacht.
Tatiana Akhmedova and Farkhad Akhmedov – £453million
Until the Princess Haya case, oil trader oligarch Farkhad Akhmedov and Tatiana Akhmedova held the record for the UK’s most expensive divorce.
Back in 2016 a High Court judge ordered Farkhad Akhmedov – an associate of Russian President Putin – to pay Tatiana an eye-watering £453 million.
The court said that Akhmedov’s £1billion fortune had helped the couple live a lavish lifestyle during their marriage – with homes in London and France, as well as a £90.5million modern art collection, yacht, plane and helicopter.
But the split was far from simple, sparking a series of legal battles.
Tatiana, 49, claimed she hadn’t received a penny of the pay-out and filed a string of lawsuits in an attempt to seize his assets.
Last year she even sued her eldest son Temur, claiming he was helping his father to hide money from her.
She won a ruling from the court stating that Temur had to pay £75.9million to his mother.
But in May she lost her bid to take over ownership of their £300million, 115m superyacht Luna as part of her divorce settlement.
Eventually in July, Tatiana “accepted cash and art” from her ex-husband, 66, to put an end to the bitter dispute.
The pretty blonde was a teenage student when she met her husband-to-be in Moscow in 1989.
She was pregnant when she married the Russian businessman four years later.
Courts heard that Farkhad had been “very generous” during their marriage – buying his wife jewellery worth more than £300,000.
He also gave her unrestricted use of two credit cards and the use of a yacht, plane and helicopter.
Kirsty and Ernesto Bertarelli – £400million
Pop princess Kirsty and Ernesto Bertarelli seemingly had it all – whirlwind holidays to stunning locations, a £100million yacht and plush properties across the world.
But this autumn the pair divorced in a £400 million settlement, making Kirsty the richest British-born divorcee in history.
It included a £350million slush fund, plus a £52million mansion in Geneva.
The pay-out saw her become richer than the Queen and J.K. Rowling.
The 50-year-old had a comfortable childhood in Staffordshire and was scouted as a model in her youth.
She won the 1988 Miss UK pageant and was entered into Miss World where she placed second runner up.
Just under a decade later she met her future husband – the Swiss billionaire businessman Ernesto Bertarelli – at a dinner party.
While she had success at songwriting – co-writing the All Saints number one hit Black Coffee – she never gave up on her own dreams of pop stardom.
And while she never quite broke through on to the mainstream with her own music, the mother-of-three could console herself with trips to the family’s £8million estate in Gstaad, a £10million mansion in Geneva, a mews house in Belgravia and their £100million yacht Vava II.
Friends were said to be shocked when Ernesto, 56, and Kirsty split – but a spokesman for the couple insisted the divorce was amicable.
Christina Estrada and Sheik Walid Juffali – £75million
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