Marriage and divorce are just as serious of a matter for billionaires as business is. Case in point is Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s split from ex-wife MacKenzie in 2019. The business magnate ended up paying a whopping $38 billion, about a quarter of Bezos’s net worth at the time, in the divorce settlement.
Such high-stakes divorces aren’t unheard of though. Over a decade prior, the world watched as Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy ended their marriage after 17 years together.
Expensive Split
The couple officially parted ways in 2006 with Vanoy leaving with $168 million from her basketball legend ex-husband. While that amount is nowhere near what MacKenzie got, that was still one of the biggest ever divorce settlements seen at the time.
In fact, it remains to be the most expensive divorce that the world of professional sports has ever seen. The settlement was more than a quarter of Jordan’s then $400 million fortune.
Fortunately, his net worth more than just bounced back. As you may already know, Jordan eventually became one of the few billionaire former athletes in the world.
Marriage Dissolution
What we do know though is that Vanoy first filed for divorce in 2002 but ended up rescinding to try to reconcile with Jordan. Unfortunately, the two of them weren’t able to deal with their marital troubles and amicably split up years later.
The announcement of their divorce even notably stated that no further statements will be made thereafter.
Since then, Vanoy has continued to live her life away from the public eye. These days, the 60-year-old reportedly spends her time collecting art and traveling.
Lesson Learned
Meanwhile, Jordan has moved on to marry once again. He tied the knot with Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto in 2013.
And this time, the former athlete made sure to sign a prenuptial agreement, a document that was absent during his first marriage. Insiders even describe the document to be ‘ironclad’ to prevent Prieto from claiming a marital share of his fortune at the event of a divorce.
The prenup also entitles the model to $1 million for every year she and Jordan stay together, insiders say. This amount would then convert to $5 million a year once their marriage lasts a decade.