$4.5 Billion dollars - this is roughly the amount of money that a Swiss court ordered Dmitry Rybolovlev to pay to his ex-wife Elena Rybolovleva as a result of their divorce. The judgment, which was rendered by the Geneva Tribunal of First Instance and delivered to both parties in May not only ordered the Russian billionaire to pay his ex-wife 4,020,555,987.80 Swiss francs (roughly $4,509,375,184.80 in U.S. Dollars), but also granted Elena around $146 million in property in Switzerland, as well as property located in Geneva.
A statement made by Marc Bonnant, Elena Rybolovleva's attorney, may confirm what many believe about the couple's divorce: that it is "the most expensive divorce in history." According to Elena's attorneys, the court's judgment was a complete victory for their client, who according to Swiss law was entitled to half the fortune Dmitry made during their 26 year marriage. It is likely that Elena's attorneys recognize the court's judgment as a laudable accomplishment due to the fact that most of the couple's fortune, estimated at around 12.8 billion dollars, was transferred to trusts in Cyprus nearly ten years ago. Although Elena's attorneys were successfully able to argue for a favorable division of property and assets for their client, despite the difficulty posed by the fact that most of the marital estate was transferred to trusts, it is likely that the judgment will be reduced upon appeal by Dmitry Rybolovlev's counsel.