Everyone has a fairy tale-like dream wedding. Everyone wants to get married to someone they can share their life with. However, there are married couples who chose to part ways and undergo divorce. According to the Guinness World Records and the UN, Maldives has the highest divorce rate in the world with figures showing that in every 1,000 inhabitants per year, there are 10.97 Maldivian divorces. Following Maldives are Belarus, US, Cuba, and so on.

The divorce rate is increasing all over the globe. So, what are the common reasons why couples decide to finally end their marriage vows? Studies suggest that infidelity or extra marital affairs, money, and constant arguing are the common causes of divorce, but these are all the results of the lack of communication in the relationship. Without constant communication, trust, and respect, the marriage won’t work.

Do you remember the time when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt announced that they were getting a divorce (truly sad), due to some problems involving the health of their family? Rumors claimed that the Angelina Jolie – Brad Pitt divorce will cost $400 million in total, but their divorce is now on hold. Divorce also costs a hefty amount. That is why there are people that only consider separation, while others invest a lot in pursuing divorce. Who could forget the Donald and Ivana Trump’s $25 million divorce?

Although Trump’s divorce is really expensive, there are other huge names in the world that recorded hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars just to have a divorce. Here is the list of the most expensive divorces of all time.

15. Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy

It was game over for Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy in 2006. They decided to have a divorce after their 17 years of marriage. They both said that the decision was mutual. Juanita received a total of $168 million from MJ as the result of their divorce. In addition to the amount of money she received, she also got full custody of their children and their Chicago mansion.

Although the divorce was a shocker at that time, the former couple already showed signs that it was inevitable. Juanita already filed a petition in 2002, but later withdrew. They decided to try fixing their marriage and reconcile with each other. After the failed attempts to save their marriage, they decided to part ways. Today, MJ is now married to Yvette Prieto Jordan. Their marriage in 2013 also sparked the rumors that MJ asked Yvette to sign a pre-nuptial agreement to protect his assets.

14. Michael and Maya Polsky

Invenergy Wind LLC CEO, Michael Polsky, had a controversial divorce with his ex-wife Maya in 2007. The court had ruled that Maya was entitled to receive half of all their cash and assets, amounting to $184 million. Michael Polsky’s camp even appealed to the court decision, but this was already final. We can assume that Michael Polsky was not happy with the decision because his attorneys cited that the former couple’s wealth was all achieved by Michael and the 50-50 split was not accurate.

Michael and Maya were married in Ukraine in the year 1975. They had an inspiring story as they move to the US with only four suitcases and $500 in their pockets. With much effort and support, Michael found wealth in the energy industry and had unimaginable success.

13. Charles Edgar and Marlene Fipke

Charles Egdar Fipke became famous in 1991 when he discovered a diamond trove in the Canadian Arctic. He later had a controversial divorce with his ex-wife Marlene in 2000. At that time, this was the biggest and most expensive divorce to be made public in Canadian history. Marlene received cash, properties, and shares of her husband’s company, totaling $200 million.

Aside from being the most expensive divorce at that time, this was also a long divorce settlement that took five years before the decision was final. Rumors say that they were both happy with the results and “relieved” after the court decision. There is also news that their marital problems grew worse when Charles discovered the diamonds. However, their lawyers and the people around them said that they were more than just a couple; they were also business partners and what happened to their marriage was both their decision.

12. Roman Abramovich and Irina Malandina

Roman Abramovich, a Russian business tycoon, also had a publicized and controversial divorce with his ex-wife Irina Malandina in 2006. Irina filed for divorce, claiming that Russia’s richest man was having an extra-marital affair back then. She demanded to receive half of her ex-husband’s fortune, amounting to about $6 billion. However, the court decision only granted her $300 million in cash and assets, including the plane, the yacht, and other properties.

The business tycoon met Irina back in 1990. Irina was just a plane stewardess back then. There were speculations that Mr. Abramovich was dating the former Russian model and businesswoman Dasha Zhukova, which was considered the cause of the former couple’s divorce. For the record, the business tycoon was also divorced from his first wife Olga in 1990 and married Irina the next year. Two years after his divorce to Irina, he married Dasha in 2008. However, there were also speculations that they are also separated recently in 2017.

11. Robert Johnson and Sheila Cramp

Who could forget the divorce of the founders of Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 2003? Robert Johnson was the first ever African American billionaire, so his divorce also cost him a fortune. Sheila Crump, formerly Mrs. Sheila Crump Johnson, received $400 million after the divorce settlement. There were some delays before they got divorced because the first and second judges were unavailable to approve the agreement.

The divorcees had a life full of colors ahead of them. Sheila married William Newman, the judge who signed their divorce agreement, in 2005 and now the CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts. On the other hand, Robert married Lauren Wooden in 2016 and he is still one of the most successful businessmen in America.

10. Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore

Celebrities will never be crossed out of the list. Mel Gibson is one of the biggest Hollywood stars who will never get out of controversies. In 2006, his ex-wife Robyn Moore filed a divorce against him that was later finalized in 2011. Robyn received half of Mel’s fortune, amounting to $425 million. It was amazing that even though this was the most expensive divorce in Hollywood history, both Mel and Robyn asked for privacy.

Mel met Robyn who was a dental nurse in 1977. They were married in 1980 and had a fruitful marriage with seven children. They claimed that they were both happy; however, this was not enough to maintain their marriage. Robyn decided to leave Mel, because of Mel’s alcoholism and DUI arrest.

Mel had an affair with Oksana Grigorieva. They remained a couple even after Mel’s divorce with Robyn, but their relationship turned sour when Oksana accused Mel of domestic violence. Robyn even defended Mel, stating that she never experienced any violence from her ex-husband. After this controversy, they both remained private, especially Robyn.

9. Craig McCaw and Wendy Petrak

Craig McCaw was the owner of McCaw Cellular that was later sold to AT&T in 1994. Reports said that Craig earned $11.5 billion when he sold his company. As one of the wealthiest men, he also had one of the most expensive divorce settlements of all time. His ex-wife Wendy Petrak received a total of $460 million, which was almost half of Craig’s fortune.

Craig and Wendy were married in 1974, but decided to get divorced in 1997. For the record, it was Craig who filed the divorce. A series of attorneys, divorce experts, accountants, and courtroom tacticians were hired by both parties after the divorce was filed. It took a while before the court decision was finalized. According to the law in Washington, assets that were accrued during the marriage period would be divided, and so it happened.

8. Dmitry and Elena Rybolovlev

Dmitry Rybolovlev is one of the richest Russian businessmen who was involved in a divorce battle with his ex-wife Elena. Aside from being expensive, this was also one of the most dysfunctional divorces of all time. In the end, Elena walked away with $604 million divorce settlement after the 2008 to 2015 divorce battle.

Dmitry, known as the man who got his wealth from the fertilizer industry, met Elena when he was still a student cardiologist. They had been in an extraordinary marriage. He had to move Elena to Geneva because of the death threats he faced in the 1990s. He was also convicted and went to Russian prison because of the alleged murder of his business partners. After his imprisonment, he went back to Elena and had a “life”.

Elena filed a divorce against Dmitry because of his “hidden assets and properties”. The divorce process became very bitter as it already involved robbery – Elena stole a $28 million ring. A Swiss judge also wanted to give $4.5 billion in cash and assets to Elena in 2014. However, the agreed amount went down to $604 million, provided that Elena got to keep two Swiss chalets.

7. Adnan and Soraya Khashoggi

Adnan Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian billionaire that was best known for his involvement in arms dealing. With an estimated net worth of $4 billion in the 1980s, he also had a very expensive divorce. His ex-wife Soraya received a divorce settlement amounting to $874 million in 1974.

Adnan married Soraya in 1961 and after 13 years of marriage, they parted ways. Soraya was a waitress’ daughter before she got married to the arms dealer. Her marriage was life-changing, not just in terms of wealth, but also her religion – she was an English woman who converted to Islam. During their marriage, Adnan had a huge net worth with 12 homes, 200 exotic animals, and 100 limousines. No wonder their divorce resulted in such a huge settlement.

6. Harold and Sue Ann Hamm

Harold Hamm, CEO of the oil company Continental Resources, had an expensive divorce from his ex-wife Sue Ann. Harold “wrote a check” to Sue Ann, amounting to $974.8 million, just to finalize the divorce settlement after two long years in 2014. Reports said that the total amount on the divorce settlement, including the check, properties, and other assets, cost around $1 billion.

However, Sue Ann did not immediately cash the check, due to her court appeal for a larger sum of money. According to the Supreme Court, her appeal was not granted, because she already accepted a nearly $1 billion check and possession of the marital property awarded to her. The divorce trial lasted for almost three months before going down to the verdict.

5. Steve and Elaine Wynn

The former couple Steve and Elaine Wynn were twice married and twice divorced. Their first divorce was in 1986, but they got back together. Alas, their almost half century marriage ended in 2010. Steve and Elaine both agreed to a settlement, which was not clear, but believed to amount to $1 billion. The sure thing that was included on their settlement was to evenly split their stake in the company.

Steve was reported to be dating someone while still married to Elaine. During the same year, the power couple of the business industry in Las Vegas had filed a divorce. After their equally beneficial divorce settlement, Elaine faced challenges in retaining her position on the board of her own company.

4. Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone

The 2009 divorce of Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone was complicated. At first, reports said that it was Slavica who received $1.2 billion in the settlement. However, there was also a report in 2014 that Bernie was the one who received that amount in the settlement. The couple was married for 24 years, but decided to file for divorce because of Bernie’s “unreasonable behavior”.

The divorce settlement was complicated and unusual. However, according to divorce expert Julain Ribet, although unusual, this kind of divorce settlement is not surprising at all. It is normal that a very wealthy business tycoon would be making payments to the ex-wife. For instance, if the individual has financial resource like a trust fund, this will be taken into consideration. Reports say that Bernie had been receiving $100 million yearly from Slavica’s trust fund.

3. Rupert Murdoch and Anna Maria Torv

Anna Maria Torv (now Anna Maria Mann), a Scottish journalist, received one of the most expensive divorce settlements of all time, amounting to $1.7 billion from the media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. She received the amount mostly from the News Corp. They were married for 31 years and had three children. This was not the only time Rupert was divorced, but this was the most expensive divorce settlement he ever had.

Anna Maria was his second wife. Before meeting Anna Maria, Rupert was married to his first wife, Patricia Booker. She was a flight attendant from Melbourne and they had a daughter. After Rupert’s divorce, he married Anna Maria. Although they had been a power couple in the media industry, their relationship also ended. As if the divorce settlement of $1.7 billion was not shocking enough, Rupert married Wendi Deng just 17 days after his divorce with Anna Maria. However, they also got divorced, but Wendi did not get anything as excessive as Anna Maria, because her marriage had a pre-nuptial agreement.

2. Alec and Jocelyn Wildenstein

Alec Wildenstein, a famous billionaire businessman and art dealer, became more famous than ever in 1999 when he faced a divorce with his then wife, Jocelyn. As a prominent name in the business industry, Jocelyn made a life-changing divorce settlement amounting to $2.5 billion in 1999 and $100 million for the next 13 years.

After their divorce, Alec married Liouba Stoupakov, a Russian model, in 2000, but also got divorced in 2008. On the other hand, Jocelyn, being a real socialite, enjoyed her divorce settlement. She was also dubbed as the “Cat Woman” because of her extensive cosmetic surgery just to look very beautiful. Just in late 2017, she was arrested together with her fiancé Lloyd Klein, because of domestic violence. Jocelyn will truly be the woman of controversies.

1. Vladimir Potanin and Natalia Potanina

This could be the biggest divorce in the history. Natalia Potanina just filed lawsuit demanding $7-15 billion as the divorce settlement agreement. The divorce settlement is not yet finalized and Natalia, former wife of business tycoon Vladimir Potanin, is still fighting for her “rights”. Her first two attempts were already rejected by the court. This time, she’s making sure that she will get what she thinks she deserves. Among the assets that Natalia is claiming are Norilsk Nickel’s profits. Vladimir owned 30% of the shares of this Russian nickel and palladium mining company. Aside from this, Natalia also wants to claim the profits of Interros International that was founded by Vladimir.

After their 23 years of marriage, their relationship was slowly shattered and they were granted an official divorce in 2014, but the settlement was not yet done. It is still in progress until late 2017 to early 2018.