Country music fans in Tennessee and elsewhere might remember that in 1993, singer Kenny Rogers divorced his fourth wife, actress Marianne Gordon, after 16 years of marriage and one child. But what made this particular divorce memorable was not the kind of open warfare we’ve seen most recently between Kim Kardashian and NBA player Kris Humphries — in fact, the Rogers-Gordon split was uncontested. What made that divorce case memorable was the $60 million Ms. Gordon walked away with as part of the settlement, a practically unheard of amount at that time.
Today, however, the Rogers-Gordon settlement is only the 10th most expensive celebrity divorce case on record. A brief rundown of the rest of that dubious top 10 follows below.
9. Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva – married 16 years, three children, settlement believed to be about $80 million.
8. Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison – married 18 years, two children, settlement reported to be between $85 and $90 million.
7. Madonna and Guy Ritchie – married eight years, two children, settlement reported to be approximately $90 million.
6. Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving – married four years, one child, a prenuptial agreement didn’t hold up in court because Irving was not represented by her own counsel when she signed it, settlement reported to be approximately $100 million.
5. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren – married almost six years, two children, settlement reported to be just over $100 million. (If we counted lost endorsement fees and other income-generating opportunities, this one might top the list.)
4. Greg Norman and Laura Andrassy – married 25 years, two children, settlement reported to be in the range of $105 million.
3. Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey – married 25 years, two children, eventually settled for $150 million.
2. Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy – married 17 years, three children, settlement reported to be $168 million (the largest ever as of 2006).
And lastly … (queue drum roll)
1. Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore – married 31 years, seven children, the final divorce settlement of $450 million was due in part to the fact that the couple had no prenuptial agreement.
Source: Yahoo, “The Top 10 Most Expensive Celeb Splits Ever,” Lizbeth Scordo, April 24, 2012
