World | UK
McCartney and Mills divorce verdict
After one of the most acrimonious divorce battles in showbusiness history, Judge Hugh Bennett is to hand out his judgment at London's High Court but, despite much media clamouring, his final ruling could be kept confidential
- Reuters
- Published: 00:30 March 17, 2008
London: Paul McCartney learns on Monday just how much of his Beatles fortune will go to his estranged wife in a divorce settlement that could set a legal precedent about the short-lived marriages of the super-rich.
After one of the most acrimonious divorce battles in showbusiness history, Judge Hugh Bennett is to hand out his judgment at London's High Court but, despite much media clamouring, his final ruling could be kept confidential.
Heather Mills, 40, whose marriage to the 65-year-old McCartney lasted less than four years, sacked her lawyers and represented herself in the case against McCartney, whose fortune has been estimated at £825 million (Dh6,103.6 million).
Estimates
Media estimates of what Mills might get have varied wildly from £200 million down to £25 million.
The judge could decide to impose a gagging clause on the warring pair.
"This is a short marriage and will set a precedent for judges," family and divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt told Sky News yesterday, underlining how closely the legal profession would be reviewing the decision.
She warned that the couple, whose case was heard behind closed doors with even the court windows blacked out, could face the full glare of publicity if either decides to appeal. Then the cloak of confidentialy would be lifted. "Both sides have 21 days in which they can appeal. Then we would never hear the end of it," Lloyd Platt said.
Settlements
Dollar dues
- Multi-millionaire businessman John Charman lost an appeal against his former wife's record-breaking £48 million (Dh355 million) settlement in May 2007. It was the highest sum ever awarded by a British divorce court.
- Basketball great Michael Jordan paid an estimated $168 million (Dh617 million) to his wife of nearly 18 years, Chicago bank officer Juanita Vanoy, when they divorced in November 2007.
- Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond settled an estimated $150 million to TV production assistant Marcia Murphey, whom he married in 1969 before his breakthrough album, Touching You, Touching Me, went gold. They divorced in 1996.
- Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg's first marriage, to actress Amy Irving, ended in 1989 with his ex-spouse awarded roughly half of the filmmaker's fortune, about $100 million.
- Actor Harrison Ford paid an estimated $85 million to his second wife, Melissa Mathison.
- Screen star Kevin Costner had an estimated $80 million settlement obtained by his first spouse, Cindy Silva, whose 16-year marriage to the actor spanned his peak earning years.
- When Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman parted in 2001 it was reported that, in dividing up their reputed fortune of $350 million, Kidman got $4.3 million, a five-bedroom mansion in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles and a house in Sydney, Australia. Cruise kept the couple's $10.5 million estate in Telluride, Colorado, and his three planes.
Share this article
UK
'US raised Iraq issue hours after 9/11'
Cars explode in massive London fire
Large fire hits London: 310 people evacuated
Duchess of York's missing PA found
London Business School honours Mohammad
3-year-old boy stabbed to death by father
Queen gets new dress on birthday card
Commission begins inquiry into Iraq war
More from World
News Editor's choice
-
Into an oasis of values
A place to snuggle in the warmth of old manners away from the bustle of city life
-
The walking MP
Rory Stewart's long walk in life has taken a new turn
-
What drives Africa's new kind of refugees?
Warming-driven factors have led many in the continent to flee their homes
