Largest Divorce Settlement Ever? $5 Billion at Stake

Sue Ann Hamm is a former executive of Continental.

Reuters compares the Hamm case to that of the media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, who reportedly paid $1.7 billion to his ex-wife Anna Murdoch in 1999.

Court records show that Sue Ann Hamm petitioned for divorce in May, but Reuters provides an earlier timeline that details a rocky marriage for well over a decade.

• The news service notes that in 1998, Harold Hamm filed for divorce and demanded that Sue Ann undergo a psychological evaluation. He later withdrew the divorce petition and the case file was ordered destroyed this year, on Feb. 13, according to Oklahoma court records. What prompted the destruction of the file is unclear. In 2005, Sue Ann Hamm subsequently filed for divorce; that case also was dropped.
• Reuters adds that her 2005 divorce filing is now a key issue in the Hamms’ divorce battle, according to a court document reviewed by Reuters. Indeed, it could play a pivotal role in determining how property—including interest in Continental—will be divided, legal analysts said.
• According to Harold, the couple “actually separated in the fall of 2005 and have lived separate lives ever since,” Reuters says, citing court documents.
• But Sue Ann Hamm’s attorneys counter that the Hamms “continued to reside together (although they do own four homes), travel together, attend public functions together, raise their children together, file joint tax returns and work together.”

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Check out 5 Super Costly Divorces of the Rich and Famous at AdvisorOne.