Most Expensive Divorce Ever And It Won’t Be Murdoch Vs. Deng

The world’s most expensive divorce in all of human history is coming up. And it won’t be the highly publicized split between News Corp. billionaire Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi Deng. Meet Oklahoma multibillionaire Harold Hamm and his wife of 25 years, Sue Ann Hamm.

In the show-boatin’ standoff between billionaires out to prove who has the most money to blow on women, now 82-year-old Rupert Murdoch was the undisputed king for years. His 1999 divorce from second wife Anna netted her a cool $1.7 billion — and made him the winner of the title for the most expensive divorce ever.

But that record has already been crushed by the Alec and Jocelyn Wildenstein divorce, which reportedly cost the now-deceased French racehorse owner a cool $2.5 billion to shed the plastic-surgery addicted “cat woman.” That pair actually split at about the same time as Rupert and Anna Murdoch, but Jocelyn repeatedly took Alec back to court to keep extracting large sums of money that eventually surpassed the $2 billion mark.

Continental Resources CEO oil bazillionaire Harold Hamm will almost certainly be paying out more than either of those two men — much much more.

There’s a fortune of at least $11 billion at stake, much of it earned in this century. But Harold and Sue Ann were married in the last, and now a new Reuters report has alleged that the divorce negotations are so complex because the Hamms didn’t have a prenuptial agreement.

Harold had previously claimed that the couple separated a decade ago, in 2003. His stock in Continental had quadrupled since 2007, so he had a few billion excuses to make the outrageous claim.

That dog don’t hunt, as we say in the south. Hamm has now reportedly agreed that the split occurred in 2012 — which could mean an extra $3 billion in Sue Ann Hamm’s pocket when the divorce decree is finalized.

As for Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng? Multiple sources agree that Murdoch learned from his mistake. The couple not only had a prenuptial agreement but Deng reportedly signed two updates.

They may not even be in the running for one of the most expensive divorces of all time.

However, with the colorful rumors linking Wendi Deng to former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and others, their divorce could be a lot more fun than the Hamm’s.

Like any oil baron worth his salt, Harold Hamm has been followed by rumors of cheatin’ on his wife. But I’m sorry to say that Sue Ann Hamm probably won’t be playing the secret video she made of his antics in court.

According to the new report, Harold’s lawyers said that the couple has already agreed to a no-fault divorce.

Reuters has crunched the numbers, and they believe that Harold Hamm’s divorce from Sue Ann Hamm will cost more than all three of Rupert Murdoch’s divorces combined.

Watch this space. The final numbers haven’t yet been released, but when they are, we’ll keep you informed about the most expensive divorce ever.

[Harold Hamm photo by David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons]