Who got the house: Expensive celeb divorces revealed
Even with every resource available to make a marriage work, celebrities do end up getting divorced like everyone else.
See some of the biggest celebrity splits below and what happened with their homes.
Elon and Justine Musk
The Tesla boss was married to his first wife, Justine Musk, for eight years after their courtship began in college.
The couple had six children together, including their oldest son, Nevada, who died from sudden infant death syndrome.
In a blog post for Business Insider, Musk described how they share joint custody of their children and he foots the bill for their nannies' salaries.
The SpaceX founder said he also sends Justine $US20,000 ($A30,600) per month post-tax for clothing, shoes and other discretionary items.
In addition to giving her their Bel Air home, the billionaire claimed the split had saddled him with $US170,000 ($A260,000) average monthly legal bills.
Bill and Melinda Gates
Bill and Melinda Gates called it quits after 27 years of marriage. The couple confirmed their split in May 2021, though they'd been separated for a year before the announcement.
For much of their marriage, the former couple lived inside Gates' 66,000-square-foot compound in Medina, Washington State, which is referred to as 'Xanadu 2.0' in a reference to a fictional estate that features in the movie 'Citizen Kane.'
According to Realtor, the Microsoft founder purchased the expansive property in 1988 for just $US2 million and then poured an estimated $US63 million into renovating.
The home is now believed to be worth an eye-watering $US130 million ($A207 million), Fortune reports.
At the time of their split, the former couple owned multiple properties, including a beach house in Del Mar, California, which they purchased for $US43 million in 2020; an equestrian ranch in Rancho Santa Fe, California, which they bought in 2014, paying $US18 million; two horse farms — one in Wellington, Florida, and one in upstate New York; and a $US12.5 million property in Indian Wells, California.
However, the current ownership of the other homes within the Gates' real estate portfolio has not been revealed.
Following the divorce, Melinda reportedly walked away with $US76 billion ($A120 billion) along with stocks and properties.
Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott
The billionaire Amazon founder and his wife of 25 years announced their split in 2019. What followed was a costly divorce that made Scott the third-richest woman in the world.
She left Bezos with 75 per cent of their shared stock in the e-trail giant, although she only kept nearly 20 million shares, which were valued at about $US35 billion ($A53 billion) at the time, the New York Post reports.
With apparently no prenup in place, Scott could have laid claim to even more of their shared 16 per cent stake in the company.
But market experts speculated she didn't attempt to dilute Jeff's control of the company because it could unnerve investors and reduce the value of Amazon shares.
Bezos also retained all the shares in the Washington Post, which he bought in 2013, and in his space company, Blue Origin.
According to Yahoo, Scott kept ownership of some key properties from the former couple's real estate portfolio.
As part of the divorce settlement, the novelist received a sprawling Beverly Hills mansion in California. She and Bezos snapped up the home in 2007 for $US24.4 million ($A37.3 million).
Scott also received sole ownership of a Beverly Hills ranch-style house. She and Bezos purchased the second home in an off-market deal on the same street in 2017 for $US12.9 million ($A12.million).
Following the divorce, philanthropist donated her two Beverly Hills homes to charity California Community Foundation (CCF), valued at $US55 million ($A84 million).
Elon Musk and Talulah Riley
The richest man in the world has also divorced twice from the actress Talulah Riley.
After their first marriage ended in 2012, Riley reportedly walked away with $US4.2 million ($A6.4 million).
They reconciled and wed again a year later, only for Elon to file for divorce in 2015.
That time, Musk agreed to pay her $US16 million ($A24.5 million) in the split, TMZ reported.
The then-couple purchased a $US17 million ($A26 million) Bel Air mansion in 2014. After their split, Musk acquired the estate and listed the property on the market.
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
It was one of the most famous divorces and biggest scandals in sport.
Once squeaky-clean, Tiger Woods had his reputation tarnished by a series of allegations of infidelity.
Ex-wife Elin Nordegren divorced the golf legend in 2010 for a reported $US110million ($A168 million).
Woods shared a mansion with his former spouse in the Florida enclave of Jupiter, which still remains as his primary residence.
The 15-time major champion purchased a 12-acre plot for $US40 million in 2006.
Today, the property is estimated to be worth upward of $US60 million ($A94 million).
Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy
The Chicago Bulls legend married Juanita Vanoy at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas in 1989 and ended up going through two separate divorce sagas with her.
The couple had three kids together but, in 2002, they filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences, the US Sun reports.
Despite the filing, they decided to try and salvage the marriage. But ultimately ended up seeking divorce again in 2006.
Vanoy received a $US168million ($A257 million) settlement, which made it the most expensive celebrity divorce at the time.
The NBA icon purchased the Highland Park estate with his wife at the time, Juanita Vanoy, in 1991 for $A2.5 million (AUD).
The basketball legend then took full ownership of the home in January 2007, one year following the couple's divorce.
Jordan offloaded the mansion after it lingered for 12 years on the market for $A22 million.
Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore
When Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore settled their divorce in 2011, it made history as the biggest ever celebrity divorce payout.
The 'Lethal Weapon' star split from his dental nurse wife after three decades of marriage and seven children.
Moore walked away with a staggering $US425 million ($A583 million).
'I did a pretty good hatchet job on my marriage myself, you know,' the Oscar winner later told talk show host Jay Leno. 'I'm to blame.'
Gibson is known to have invested heavily in real estate, including an island in Fiji he bought for $15 million in 2005.
People reported that Moore was also entitled to half of any film residuals Gibson receives for the rest of his life.
Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher have finalised their $US75 million ($A120 million) divorce battle more than one year after they announced their split.
Baron Cohen, 53, and Fisher, 49, announced last April they had called it quits after 14 years of marriage.
The pair and their three children had been living between Perth, Sydney, London and Hollywood.
Despite calling Australia home for large parts of their relationship, the Hollywood couple don't appear to have bought any homes together Down Under.
The Aussie actress and English comedian reportedly spent some time at a Darling Point mansion, also in Sydney's east, that cost around $100,000 a week and sold for $24 million in November 2022.
But according to property records the only home either of the couple own in Australia is the two-bedroom Woollahra unit Fisher bought in 1995 and still owns, for $171,500 as a 19-year-old, just a year after she first started starring on 'Home and Away'.
Fisher sold the apartment last October, pocketing $930,000.
Greg Norman And Laura Andrassy
Greg Norman endured a costly divorce to wife of 22-years, former flight attendant Laura Andrassy.
The Shark was forced to pay out an astonishing $US103 million ($A157 million) settlement in 2007.
The Legendary golfer's split cost him $US17.5 million ($A27 million) from the sale of their beachfront home on Jupiter Island, a $US4 million ($A6.1 million) home in Palm Beach, a $US50 million ($A60 million) one-off payment and $US500,000 ($A600,000) in jewellery.
Harrison Ford And Melissa Mathison
In 2004, Harrison Ford got divorced from his second wife, Melissa Mathison after 21-years of marriage.
Melissa, a screenwriter who wrote 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial', was given $US90 million ($A116 million), plus future royalties on two 'Star Wars' and three 'Indiana Jones' movies.
The former couple purchased a ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Now the actor primarily lives on the $US13 million ($A19.9 million) estate with his current wife, Calista Flockhart.
Kevin & Cindy Costner
Kevin Costner parted with $US80 million ($A122 million) when he divorced first wife Cindy Silva in 1994 after 16 years.
In 1988, 'The Bodyguard star' purchased an enormous property in Carpinteria, California, and became the primary residence of him and Silva.
Although it is unclear just how much the actor forked over for the compound, the property is now valued at around $US145 million ($A230 million).
When Costner and Silva split, the actor took ownership of the property.
Paul McCartney and Heather Mills
Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills announced their split in 2008, six-years after their wedding.
The former model initially tried for $343 million in the divorce settlement, but ended up with a still-impressive $66 million instead.
The Beatles star bought a riverside flat in London for Mills, reportedly to serve as her office. It was listed for sale in 2020.
Madonna and Guy Ritchie
Madonna forked over an estimated $US92 million ($A126 million) to Guy Ritchie when they divorced in 2008.
'The Man from U.N. C. L. E' director walked away with their country home in Ashcombe and their London Pub (Punchbowl).
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