In what might be the largest divorce settlement in history, a Geneva, Switzerland court has ordered Russian tycoon Dmitry Rybolovlev to pay his ex-wife Elena Rybolovleva 4 Swiss billion francs, which is equal to roughly $4.5 billion – $4,509,375,184.80 to be exact.
Rybolovleva, who had been battling Rybolovlev in a Swiss court since 2008, was also granted sole custody of the couple’s 13-year-old daughter Anna. Rybolovleva also won a freeze on assets which include a majority ownership in French soccer club AS Monaco, a $295 million stake in the Bank of Cyprus and a $95 million Palm Beach, Florida home that was purchased from Donald Trump. Rybolovlev can still appeal the Swiss ruling.
Elena then took her estranged husband to court in the United States, and accused him of trying to shield her from an $88 million Manhattan penthouse bought from former Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Sanford “Sandy” Weill, along with the Palm beach estate. Elena’s lawyers accused Rybolovlev of using marital properties to move his assets through various trusts and limited liability companies.
Rybolovlev, 47, is a Russian businessman, investor, philanthropist who made $6.5 billion in 2010 after selling his stake in the potash producer Uralkali. In 2014, he was ranked #147 among Forbes billionaires, with a net worth of $8.8 billion. Rybolovlev’s 24-year-old daughter Ekaterina made headlines when she bought the Greek resort island of Skorpios, where shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis married Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968. Ekaterina bought the island from Onassis’ 28-year-old granddaughter Athina Onassis Roussel for $153 million. Rybolovlev also purchased an estate in Hawaii from actor Will Smith for $20 million.
Beginning in 1996, Rybolovlev spent 11 months in a Russian prison, after being accused of masterminding a contract killing. In 1997 he was completely acquitted by courts of law at three levels, including the Presidium of the Supreme Court which is the highest judicial authority in Russia. Regarding his track record as a spouse, in April 2012, Rybolovlev’s spokesman admitted that “He was not a model husband. Mr. Rybolovlev never denied the infidelities, but the wife knew about it for many years and passively accepted it.”
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