$4.5 billion divorce is making the headlines as Swiss court granted the settlement to a Russian tycoon's wife. The $4.5 billion divorce reportedly between a Russian oligarch and his wife, and now, it is being called the most expensive divorce in the history of divorces.
The Russia oligarch involved in the $4.5 billion divorce is 47-year-old Dmitry Rybolovlev. According to CNN's French affiliate BFM, Rybolovlev became involved in the most expensive divorce in history of divorces when Geneva, Switzerland's Court of First Instance last week ordered him to pay his wife, Elena, up to 4 billion Swiss francs.
When converted into U.S. dollars, that amounts to $4.5 billion, a massive amount for any divorcee, even a billionaire. Before the $4.5 billion divorce, the couple was reportedly married for 23 years but have been engaged in divorce proceedings since 2008, BFM reported while citing the Swiss daily newspaper Le Temps.
According to Forbes, the billionaire Rybolovlev owns the French soccer team AS Monaco. The team reportedly finished second in Ligue 1 this season. He can afford the $4.5 billion divorce because he is currently No. 148 on Forbes' list of billionaires, with an estimated worth is $8.8 billion.
Rybolovlev has reportedly been recognized for real estate endeavours. It includes the purchases of a $300 million penthouse in Monaco and a $98 million Palm Beach, Florida mansion which is owned by Donald Trump. According to Forbes, his daughter also purchased an $88 million New York apartment and the Greek island of Skorpios. Before the $4.5 billion divorce, Rybolovlev made his original fortune in fertilizer.
Forbes adds that he and his scientist father started their business in 1990. That's when Rybolovlev began buying shares of industrial enterprises in 1992. By 1995, Rybolovlev was named chairman of the board of Uralkali, Russia's top producer of potassium fertilizers. He sold his stake in Uralkali for $6.5 billion in 2010 and got hold of a stake in AS Monaco in 2011.
$4.5 billion divorce has just put Rybolovlev in rarefied company, according to CNN. In the history of most expensive divorces, only French businessman and art dealer Alec Wildenstein and Bernie Ecclestone, the top dog in Formula One racing, have reportedly shelled out more than $1 billion in divorce proceedings.
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