Vladimir Potanin’s $7 Billion Divorce Bill Has Ex-Wife Natalia Demanding Much Of Russian’s Net Worth
Vladimir Potanin’s $7 billion divorce bill may break some sort of record for being the world’s most expensive divorce, but ex-wife Natalia Potanin seems to be following Ivana Trump’s advice: “Remember girls: don’t get mad, get everything.”
In a related report by the Inquisitr, another Russian billionaire set the previous mark for the world’s most expensive divorce.
Reports claim that Vladimir Potanin’s net worth is right around $15 billion, although estimates vary by almost $1 billion either way. Celebrity Net Worth explains how he managed to accrue all that wealth.
“In the early 90s, he left the Ministry of Foreign Trade and launched his own company, Interros, with fellow businessman, Mikhail Prokhorov. Interros is a successful holding company that oversees such corporations as Norilsk Nickel, a mining company, and Sidanco, an oil firm. He also runs ProfMedia, the multimedia corporation that is responsible for the Russian arms of MTV and VH1, among many other entertainment outlets. He is also the Head of the National Council on Corporate Governance, serves on the Board Trustees of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the State Hermitage, and a member of the Russian Public Chamber.”
Natalia Potanin served him the $7 billion divorce bill because she claims Russian law requires her ex-husband to divide all the wealth he acquired during their marriage. At the same time, much of Vladimir’s wealth is tied up in shares of companies like Norilsk Nickel, and she is already talking about socializing control of the company.
“I want to give my shares to the state. I want to avoid corporate conflicts. I want such a big strategic object to be under the state control,” she told CNN.
The $7 billion divorce bill came up after Vladimir Potanin offered a settlement including a monthly allowance of $250,000 and properties in Moscow, London, and New York. But the divorce has caused Natalia pain, and she is demanding more compensation in return.
“I feel offended after living together for 30 years,” she said. “I loved him so much, it was a big personal drama to me.”
The $7 billion divorce bill may seem ludicrous, and divorce lawyer Ayesha Vardag says laws around the world have changed now that women are working their own careers.
“There was this whole vision of women being ‘looked after’ by their husbands and that women had to give up their careers once they were married and that, somehow, by being married the economic value of a women had diminished,” she told Business Insider. “That attitude is being whittled away and it’s becoming tougher and tougher for women to automatically receive huge payouts as people are constantly challenging these assumptions.”
What do you think about Vladimir Potanin’s $7 billion divorce bill? Do you think women should always receive half of a person’s net worth no matter the circumstances?
[Image via Google Images]
