A woman has been awarded $180 million and a share of her ex-husband’s significant property portfolio after a bitter three-year divorce battle.
The couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were married for more than two decades before separating a few years ago.
The Family Court heard the husband had given his then-wife a “life of luxury” but they had been “living separately together” since the 1990s.
Their relationship began to fall apart in 2007 when the husband had an extramarital affair at one of his properties abroad.
Judge Peter Campton ruled that the couple should divide their vast fortunes, which the husband had been accumulating since before they met.
A woman has been awarded $180 million and a portion of her ex-husband’s substantial property portfolio after a bitter three-year divorce battle (file image)
Judge Campton ordered the husband to pay his ex-wife four installments of $40 million by March 22 and July 26 of this year and next.
He must also pay her 50 percent of the couple’s property portfolio ($21.8 million) by March 22, 2026, bringing his total payment to about $181 million.
He will also receive ownership of three apartments, one of which will be his main residence abroad and valued at more than $10 million, according to the report. Daily Telegraph.
Judge Campton found the wife had been “financially dependent on the husband” after leaving her job shortly into their relationship.
Her husband’s wealth had helped her live a luxurious life of “happy idleness” as she spent most of the week with friends and “enjoyed first-class international travel.”
‘She has reached retirement age with enormous wealth thanks to the provision the Husband has made for her, and can live out the rest of her days in the extraordinary luxury she has long enjoyed, with ownership of multiple properties that can leave at will,” reads Judge Campton’s ruling.
The husband, who had accumulated much of his wealth before they met in 1999, was ordered to pay for his ex-wife’s luxurious life to which she had become accustomed (file image)
The wife was questioned during cross-examination after telling the court that she did not want to visit her property abroad due to her ex-partner’s infidelity there.
However, when the husband was questioned, he admitted to the affair at the property, but denied that it was the reason she did not visit the house.
Text messages between the couple and those presented in court reveal the bitter fallout between the couple.
“You fucked her when you were both at (the house) because the last thing you wanted to do was spend a weekend with your wife,” the woman wrote.
“I won’t go into that, I’m too upset, but I will say how appalling it is that you used our marital home to continue your perverted affair.”
She told the court “I won’t deny it,” adding that “she also had extramarital affairs” and explaining that it was not part of her evidence because she “didn’t want to go down that path.”
“I didn’t think it was relevant,” he told the court. “Look, I have a bad temper.”