In June 1999, Rupert and Anna Murdoch officially put an end to their 32-year marriage, according to The Guardian. But the papers came with a hefty price tag. In 2013, The New York Times reported that Rupert settled with Anna for a whopping $1.2 billion, making it the world’s third-most expensive divorce as of May, according to Investopedia. However, that figure has been disputed. Of course, when we’re talking billions and settlements that involve a media empire with tricky elements like stocks and assets, we know we’re walking on uncertain terrain.
The NYT report noted $110 million of the final figure had been given to Anna in cash. But other than that, it doesn’t detail the source of the remaining millions. The Guardian‘s Michael Wolff and author of a biography on Murdoch’s dynasty argued in a 2013 column that $1.2 billion is an exaggerated sum. “One-and-three-quarters billion dollars is an extreme and preposterous amount that … ought to have cried out for further scrutiny,” he wrote. He isn’t the only one to contest the amount.
The Australian Financial Review’s investigative reporter Neil Chenoweth also argued the figure defied the reality of the mogul’s holding company. “If Anna secretly holds $1.7bn of Rupert’s NewsCorp stock then all that stuff bout the 6 kids getting equal shares is hooey. Makes no sense,” he tweeted in 2013. Indeed, New York Magazine reported in 2005 that Anna had actually settled for $200 million.
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Nicki
