Could this be the biggest divorce settlement in the history? The Associated Press said that a Swiss court has ordered a Russian billionaire to pay over $4.5 billion to his ex-wife in a divorce settlement.
According to the papers delivered to both parties on Monday, Geneva Tribunal of First Instance motioned for French soccer club AS Monaco owner Dmitry Rybolovlev to pay his ex-wife Elena Rybolovleva of Geneva 4,020,555,987.80 Swiss francs, or $4,509,375,184.80 to be exact.
Moreover the judge's ruling will now have Rybolovleva receive real estate properties worth hundreds of millions in dollars as well. Rybolovleva will stand to own a property worth 130.5 million francs ($146 million) in Gstaad, Switzerland, where the couple owned two luxurious chalets, and two others in the ultra-wealthy area of Geneva known as Cologny. AP said that both properties have no listed value. Rybolovleva has also gained custody of their 13 year-old daughter Anna. AP said that the former couple also have an adult daughter named Ekaterina.
Although the award seemed big, Rybolovlev's lawyer is unsure that the announced cash amount could be retained in the coming appeals. Tetiana Bersheda said, "There will definitely be a new appellate review and therefore this judgment is not final given the existence of two levels of appeal in Switzerland."
Rybolovlev's lawyer, on the other hand, said about the ruling, "(The judgment has confirmed) both the validity of the trusts created by Mr. Rybolovlev and the validity of the asset transfer to them that occurred long before his wife initiated divorce proceedings."
AP said the two had met as university students in Perm, Russia, and had gotten married in the Russian city in 1987. When Forbes estimated Rybolovlev's wealth at $12.8 billion, divorce proceedings had then started. The Monaco-based Rybolovlev had made majority of his fortune from selling his stake in fertilizer company Uralkali for $6.5 billion in 2010, Reuters said.
