Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Billion Dollar Divorces

Episode Date: May 12, 2022

Today, Nicole is going to knock your socks off with three of the most expensive divorces in human history… so far, anyway. Plus, Nicole points out how these divorces challenge some of our assumptions about wealth— and reinforce some stereotypes.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Well, it doesn't. Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. Like an old school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. Nicole Lappin. Yesterday, I demystified the financial side of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's highly contentious

and much-publicized defamation trial. In that episode, I mentioned that their 2015 divorce settlement ended with Johnny paying $7 million to Johnny paying $7 million to Amber. $7 million is a lot of money. You can buy 21 brand new 2022 Lamborghinis with that kind of money and still have money left over for gas. Yes, even at these gas prices. But let me tell you, $7 million is nowhere near the most expensive divorce settlement in the world or even in this country. Today, I'm going to knock your socks off with the three most expensive divorces in human history. So far, anyway. So let's start by revisiting a character that has

popped up a few times in recent Money Rehab episodes. Elon Musk. Fun fact, Elon Musk has been divorced three times, but has only been married to two different women. That sounds like some sort of playground riddle or McKenzie interview question, right? Well, we'll be able to solve this riddle in just a second. Elon was married to his first wife, Justine, for eight years. According to the New York Post, in the divorce, Justine got their Bel Air home, as well as a budget for clothing that reportedly ended up being a cool 20 grand per month. Plus, Musk also had to foot the bill for both of their legal fees, which ended up being 170 grand per month. Two years later, Elon Musk married actress Tallulah Riley in 2010. In 2012, the couple divorced and Tallulah apparently won $4.2 million in the settlement.

But then, get this, Elon and Tallulah got back together and got married again only a year later. and got married again only a year later. But Elon filed for divorce again in 2015. And yes, that is how his marriage history ends up being. Three divorces, two wives. In their second divorce, Tallulah received a reported $16 million, almost quadruple the amount she got in the first divorce. You know what they say, if you don't succeed, try, try again. Anyway, next up, Mr. Amazon himself, Jeff Bezos. Jeff and his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott divorced in 2019 after 25 years of marriage. Some people speculate that Jeff started having an affair with his current girlfriend, entertainment reporter and news anchor Lauren Sanchez, while he was still married to Mackenzie. and that's why

their marriage fell apart. But Jeff Bezos addressed those rumors and said, quote, that story is completely wrong and out of order. We may never know, but what we do know is their divorce settlement. In the divorce, McKenzie received a quarter of Jeff's Amazon holdings, which came out to 19.7 million shares. That transfer of shares made McKinsey a standalone billionaire. Her net worth is currently over $45 billion. That said, she has been donating much of her settlement. According to Forbes, McKinsey is giving away her fortune faster than any billionaire in recent history. Giving away money quickly is normally a big no-no in money rehab land, but in McKinsey's case, I totally approve. Because even though she's giving away her money so rapidly, she is still the fourth

richest woman in the world. And it's not like she's giving away so much money that we're going to be concerned about McKinsey's financial future. Again, she is the fourth richest woman in the world. Mackenzie Scott is going to be just fine. Last, we have Bill and Melinda Gates. And I have to say, their divorce felt like a major plot twist to me. I have to admit, I was really bummed when the news broke that they were separating. They had been married for almost 30 years and were such a power couple, or so it seemed from an outsider's perspective. I mean, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is such an influential charitable group. I just always thought that they were this solid partnership.

And it really tugged at my heartstrings to know that there were cracks beneath the surface that no one saw at those charity events. Isn't it funny how we get attached to public relationships? Who knew I was so team Melinda? Anyway, I'm not the only person who was asking questions about their relationship. Melinda was interviewed about the breakup of her marriage when she appeared on CBS in March. Bill had admitted to one affair with a Microsoft staffer, but that affair happened two decades before the divorce. When Melinda was asked whether Bill had multiple affairs, she said, that's a question Bill needs to answer. However, Melinda said that the affair, or really any one thing, wasn't the cause for the divorce. She said, quote, there just came a point

in time where there wasn't enough there that I realized it just wasn't healthy and I couldn't trust what we had, end quote. Their settlement now is a biggie. In the divorce, Melinda received $76 billion. But don't worry, Bill is not struggling to make ends meet. He's left with an estimated $128.1 billion. Okay, so I know I said this episode was all about the numbers behind the biggest divorces, and that is true. But I do just want to take an opportunity for a little reality check. I've noticed when we, the royal we society, talk about prenups and divorce settlements, there is this enormous gender bias. The assumption is, still, in freaking 2022, that the man is the breadwinner in a hetero relationship, and in a divorce, the woman becomes this villain who's trying to take all the money.

The man is not always the breadwinner in a relationship. And yet, I can't ignore the fact that all three examples we just talked about in today's episode involves a ridiculously wealthy man paying out an ex-wife. But let's be clear. This doesn't reinforce the narrative that men are always the breadwinners. It only emphasizes how men are disproportionately represented in tech and corporate culture. To fix that, we need funding toward female founders and women in tech. I know I'll be living in a much more fair world when I see a headline about a husband getting a massive settlement from his boss bitch founder ex-wife. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. They say that money can't buy happiness, and I think the truth of that is

a little complicated. It's a lot easier to pursue happiness when you have money than when you don't. But I think we can all agree that money doesn't equal happiness. And if you need any proof, look no further than these gentlemen we just talked about today. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates. They are three of the richest men in the world. And when I say three of the richest, I mean they're three of the richest men in the world. And when I say three of the richest, I mean they're three of the top four richest people in the whole wide world. And yet, all of the money in the whole wide world

didn't ensure that they'd have the perfect, happily ever after marriage. So, just a reminder, even though not all of us can casually afford to send a rocket to the moon, we can all afford to show kindness to each other. And that is priceless. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Mike Coscarelli. Executive producers are Nikki Etor and Will Pearson. Our mascots are Penny and Mimsy.

Huge thanks to OG Money Rehab team Michelle Lanz for her development work, Catherine Law for her production and writing magic, and Brandon Dickert for his editing, engineering, and sound design. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all.