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From divorce comes suffering

Influential billionaire couple Bill and Melinda Gates announced last week they are divorcing after a 27-year marriage. In the divorce filing, the couple said their marriage is "irretrievably broken. It is unclear how the couple will divide their assets, but it will likely be one of the largest divorce settlements in history. But who went before them? MASTERS went to investigate.Text: Fleur de Jong
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1. Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott | At least 28 billion.

The couple met when they were both working at D.E. Shaw in New York. After the two moved to Seattle, MacKenzie helped Jeff build Amazon. In 2019, the couple decided to separate and announced the terms of their divorce. MacKenzie received about 4% of Amazon's shares, worth more than 28 billion euros. This amount has since increased as the shares have become worth more. Last March, MacKenzie remarried and changed her last name to Scott. The divorce puts MacKenzie in the third spot of richest women in the world. 

2. Bill and Sue Gross | 1.07 billion euros

In 2016, Sue divorced the founder of wealth management Pimco, Bill Gross. Sue received over 1 billion euros as a result of this divorce. This amount was made up of the value of, among other things, a Picasso painting that Sue later managed to sell for 29 million euros and a beach house on Laguna Beach. While ex-husband Bill tried to keep the three house cats, Sue eventually got custody of all three cats as well. 

3. Steve and Elaine Wynn | 700 million euros

The co-founders of casino giant Wynn Resorts divorced back in 1986, but remarried again after this. In 2010, Steve and Elaine Wynn's marriage finally came to an end. Elaine received 11 million euros worth of shares after the divorce, with an estimated value of 653 million euros. Later, Steve sold 94 million euros worth of shares, of which he had to cede another part to Elaine as part of the deal. Steve resigned as CEO of his company in February 2018 after allegations of sexual harassment, he also sold all his shares. Elaine is now Wynn Resorts' largest individual shareholder. 

4. Harold Hamm and Sue Arnall | 802 million euros

After three years of court proceedings, oil icon Harold tried to divorce his wife Sue in 2015 by offering her a check for as much as 780 million euros. Sue refused it and appealed for a larger portion. Harold is top executive of Continental Resources, a major player in the US shale market. Harold's wealth is estimated at more than 11 billion euros. Sue felt shortchanged by 780 million. The Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected Sue's appeal, after which she agreed to the 780 million. 

5. Roy E. and Patricia Disney | 493 million euros

Roy and his wife filed for divorce in 2007 after a 52-year marriage. Roy was a cousin of Walt Disney and worth about 1 billion euros. With the divorce, Roy lost almost half of his fortune. In 2008, Roy remarried writer and producer Leslie DeMeuse. A year later, Roy died.