Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: How will their divorce compare to the most expensive celebrity splits of all time?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the latest high-profile duo to announce their decision to divorce after 10 years together.

The ultimate power couple, both enjoyed successful, Oscar-winning careers in film and jointly amassed a fortune worth an estimated $400 million.

Jolie has also directed and more latterly become a prominent activist and UNHCR special envoy, and both are involved in philanthropy.

It is not known if they had a prenuptial agreement in place before marrying in 2014. They have six children together.

The Independent spoke to Ayesha Vardag, who specialises in divorce and family law, about some of the most famous and expensive celebrity divorces that precede Jolie and Pitt.

Roman and Irina Abramovich

“Widely believed to be the world’s most expensive divorce, the couple separated in 2007 after 16 years of marriage. The settlement, which was ordered in Moscow, is clouded in secrecy and has been reported to be worth upwards of £250m. Irina is thought to have received such a high amount due to the sheer scale of the money made by the Chelsea FC owner and the fact that most of it was built up during the course of the marriage. When the couple met, Roman was a struggling businessman selling Russian dolls and rubber ducks. It was only in the 90s, after his marriage, that he took advantage of newly capitalist Russia to create what was, at the time of the divorce, rumoured to be a £12bn fortune. Though the settlement is not clear, it is likely that the couple’s links to England mean the matrimonial assets may have been 'shared' between the parties, entitling Irina to perhaps a multi-billion pound pay-out.”

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Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone

“Many would expect the Formula One impresario to have come off worse from a divorce, given his vast wealth, but in fact, he received a payment of over £300m from Slavica. This counter-intuitive result was because Ecclestone had transferred £2.4bn in assets to a Luxemburg trust which his wife was entitled to during a health scare in happier times. As the divorce took place in England, the court was able to use its wide-ranging powers to deal with trust assets, and ordered Slavica to make significant payments back to Bernie. As the parties had been married for 24 years, during which time most of the fortune was built up, she retained a significant share of the assets. The details of the deal only became public when, in 2014, they came before a German court in relation to his trial for alleged bribery.”

Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall

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“Lawyers for Jagger argued their Balinese Hindu ceremony meant they were not actually married after their split. Nonetheless, when the marriage was annulled, Hall was entitled to financial provision from Sir Mick’s estimated £200m fortune. The parties had been together for 22 years, making this a “long marriage” in the court’s eyes and entitling Hall to a significant share of the Rolling Stone singer’s fortune, though the court would recognise that much of this was built up before the parties’ 1977 marriage. Again, the details of the deal done are secret, but it has been reported that Hall received around £30m.”

Paul McCartney and Heather Mills

“One of the most famous divorces of recent times. When the Beatle came to divorce, he was held to have a fortune of £400m as a result of his place in the band. Though this was a short marriage and the assets were considered “non-matrimonial property”, Mills was entitled to a sum to meet her income and housing needs. The judge savaged Mills’ litigation conduct (she sought £125m and was found to be an unreliable witness), she was awarded a lump sum of £16.5m, assets worth £7.8m and £35,000 per year in child maintenance for the parties’ daughter. Mills responded to this by throwing water over Sir Paul’s solicitor.”