“Billion dollar divorce” isn’t a term one hears very often–or at all, really–so it’s come as something as a shock to many today that an Oklahoma couple came to a settlement in court recently that saw a payout that big.
Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm, who has made much of his wealth in oil, was ordered by a judge this week to pay his ex-wife Sue Ann a total of $995.5 million as part of their divorce agreement, with about a third of that to be released to her by the end of next month. According to the Daily Mail, Sue Ann Hamm has already received about $25 million since their split was made official in 2012; she alleged in the filing that Hamm was unfaithful during their marriage.
The amount is not as large as Sue Ann hoped to receive; her attorneys initially pursued a split of the $17 billion estate they shared during their marriage, part of which is linked to Continental Resources. If the split had been accepted by the judge, Hamm would have been forced to sell part of his shares, which would have knocked him out of the lead shareholder position. However, Sue Ann Hamm can still appeal the decision.
The couple never had a pre-nuptial agreement before marrying in 1988.
Predictably, the internet is abuzz with talk about Hamm and the settlement.
A one billion dollar divorce and we're out here complaining cuz some girl broke our heart. http://t.co/y86nvYIhz9
— Eric Lilly (@EricLilly7) November 11, 2014
A million dollar divorce is cool. You know what's cooler? A BILLION DOLLAR DIVORCE. http://t.co/fOb4RZXOp3
— SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) November 11, 2014
Oil tycoon ordered to pay wife $1 billion in divorce. But don't fret–he's got $17 billion more where that came from. http://t.co/POFyQ37DTX
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) November 11, 2014
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