--- title: Russian Oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev Ordered to Pay Ex-Wife $4.5 Billion description: Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev was ordered to pay his ex-wife $4.5 billion by a Swiss court canonical: https://time.com/105898/rybolovlev-divorce-expensive/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-20T12:40:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:55:19.832Z og:title: This Is How Much The Most Expensive Divorce In History Costs og:description: Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev was ordered to pay his ex-wife $4.5 billion by a Swiss court og:url: https://time.com/105898/rybolovlev-divorce-expensive/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda9b1d6777734d29/6986902ccd804d0f2eccaf3f/481478467.jpg?branch=production&width=1003&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1003 og:image:height: 564 og:image:alt: Rose Ball 2014 In Aid Of The Princess Grace Foundation In Monaco og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is How Much The Most Expensive Divorce In History Costs twitter:description: Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev was ordered to pay his ex-wife $4.5 billion by a Swiss court twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda9b1d6777734d29/6986902ccd804d0f2eccaf3f/481478467.jpg?branch=production&width=1003&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is How Much The Most Expensive Divorce In History Costs > Sponsored content. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=be9ae4b0-162b-4a57-88f7-b93292be6af2&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler May 20, 2014 12:40 PM UTC  Dmitry Rybolovlev attends the Rose Ball 2014 in aid of the Princess Grace Foundation at Sporting Monte-Carlo Dmitry Rybolovlev attends the Rose Ball 2014 in aid of the Princess Grace Foundation at Sporting Monte-Carlo Pascal Le Segretain—Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler May 20, 2014 12:40 PM UTC A Swiss court ordered Russian oligarch and Monaco soccer club owner Dmitry Rybolovlev to pay more than [$4.5 billion](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/05/19/russian-oligarch-faces-45-billion-swiss-divorce-settlement/9294953/) to his ex-wife Monday. And if what Rybolovlev’s lawyer’s saying is true, then the soon-to-be-appealed settlement amounts to the most expensive divorce in history. Lawyers for Rybolovlev’s ex-wife Elena, on the other hand, released a statement that the ruling was a “complete victory.” On top of the settlement money, which amounted to half of Dmitry’s fortune, Elena will receive three different properties—one of which is worth $146 million—and custody of their 13-year-old daughter Anna. The former couple, both of whom are 47, met in a Russian university and were married in 1987\. Divorce proceedings began in 2008\. Forbes once estimated Rybolovlev was the 78th richest man on earth thanks to his success in the fertilizer business. He’s now number 147. Ryobolovlev’s settlement figure puts even other [notoriously pricey divorces](http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/13/us-newscorp-murdoch-divorces-factbox-idUSBRE95C1HA20130613) in the shade. Art dealer Alec Wildenstein paid his ex-wife a $2.5 billion settlement on top of a yearly $100 million sum for 13 years following his 1999 divorce. That same year, Rupert Murdoch reached a settlement with his wife of 31 years, Anna, for $1.7 billion. \[[_AP_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/05/19/russian-oligarch-faces-45-billion-swiss-divorce-settlement/9294953/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/105898/rybolovlev-divorce-expensive/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/105898/rybolovlev-divorce-expensive/"},"headline":"This Is How Much The Most Expensive Divorce In History Costs","datePublished":"2014-05-20T12:40:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:55:19.832Z","description":"Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev was ordered to pay his ex-wife $4.5 billion by a Swiss court","url":"https://time.com/105898/rybolovlev-divorce-expensive/","keywords":["Living","Marriage","Divorce","relationships","Law","Switzerland","Settlement","Billionaire","rich"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda9b1d6777734d29/6986902ccd804d0f2eccaf3f/481478467.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda9b1d6777734d29/6986902ccd804d0f2eccaf3f/481478467.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rose Ball 2014 In Aid Of The Princess Grace Foundation In Monaco","caption":"Rose Ball 2014 In Aid Of The Princess Grace Foundation In Monaco","creditText":"Pascal Le Segretain—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/105898/rybolovlev-divorce-expensive/","name":"This Is How Much The Most Expensive Divorce In History Costs"}}]}] ```