Oilman’s wife set to get nearly $1B in divorce
Published 10:15 am Tuesday, November 11, 2014
- Harold and Sue Ann Hamm
One of the country’s richest men is set to lose a portion of his wealth in a lucrative divorce settlement awarding his second wife nearly $1 billion.
On Monday, an Oklahoma County judge put an end to two years of legal posturing and a two-month trial by ordering oil magnate Harold Hamm to pay his second wife, Sue Ann, a total of $995.5 million. The settlement mandated by Judge Howard Haralson includes $322.7 million to be paid by the end of the year, with the rest payable in monthly installments of $7 million.
Among the holdings awarded to Sue Ann Hamm are the couple’s home in Oklahoma, valued at nearly $5 million, and a ranch in Carmel Valley, Calif., worth more than $17 million.
Harold Hamm, who in 2012 was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 30th richest person in America and the 76th richest person in the world, is the CEO of Continental Resources, an oil exploration firm that is the fourth largest company in Oklahoma.
Although Sue Ann Hamm’s earnings from the settlement are substantial, they amount to less than 10% of the couple’s total assets. Harold Hamm’s estimated net worth is nearly $14 billion.
“This has been a long and arduous process and we are appreciative of Judge Haralson and his staff for their dedication and attention to the witnesses and evidence presented,” Harold Hamm told Forbes magazine. “This is a fair and equitable outcome to the case. Out of respect for my family, we will have no further comment on the matter.”
Harold and Sue Ann Hamm had been married since 1988. Sue Ann Hamm filed for divorce in 2012, and the case went to trial in August. Haralson ordered transcripts in the case to be sealed.
The Hamms’ divorce had made news in part because of the expected size of the settlement, but it falls short of the most expensive settlement ever. That distinction belongs to Russian fertilizer magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev, who was ordered by a Swiss court to pay more than $4.5 billion to his ex-wife Elena earlier this year.