Harold Hamm offered to pay second wife Sue Ann Arnall the equivalent of £644million - but she instructed her lawyers to return the handwritten cheque
An oil tycoon has had a $975million divorce cheque handed back to him – by his bitter ex-wife who insists she is worth more.
Harold Hamm offered to pay his second wife the full cash value of what he owed based on a divorce ruling.
But Sue Ann Arnall took one look at the hand-written $974,790,317.77 cheque, equivalent to £644million, and instructed her legal team to return it.
Ms Arnall, who reverted to her maiden name, has rejected the divorce settlement as she believes she is entitled to more of an empire once valued at £12billion.
But she is not the only one appealing the November divorce ruling.
Mr Hamm, who Forbes value at £5.2billion, is counter-claiming, saying the original judgment was too high.
The billionaire CEO of oil driller Continental Resources claimed the fall in oil prices has cost him more than half his fortune in the last few months.
The bitter divorce settlement hinges on Mr Hamm’s worth – which is as volatile as the fluctuating cost of a barrel of oil – with appeals to be heard by Oklahoma supreme court.
Ms Arnall, a former Continental executive who was married to Mr Hamm for 26 years, said the award of cash and assets was inadequate and allowed her former husband to keep the lion’s share of their joint fortune.
Mr Hamm had already paid his ex-wife more than £13million during their divorce proceedings.
The couple, who have two adult daughters, married in 1988 but did not sign a pre-nuptial agreement.
Since the pair married, Continental Resource’s worth has grown from less than £33million to £13billion. And because Mr Hamm owned his shares in the company before he and Ms Arnall were married, they belong to him.
But under Oklahoma law, the shares’ increase in value since 1988 can be fairly divided with Ms Arnall.
Mr Hamm started out in the oil industry as a teenager, pumping petrol and changing tyres.
The tycoon, who was the 13th child of poor farmers, founded his first business, Harold Hamm Tank Trucks, in 1966. He is now one of the world’s most successful fracking pioneers, with Continental Resources producing 168,000 barrels of oil a day. He once said: “My biggest advantage is that I was born with no advantage.”
Family law experts say the pair’s divorce appeal process could take from 18 months to several years.
An oil tycoon has had a $975million divorce cheque handed back to him – by his bitter ex-wife who insists she is worth more.
Harold Hamm offered to pay his second wife the full cash value of what he owed based on a divorce ruling.
But Sue Ann Arnall took one look at the hand-written $974,790,317.77 cheque, equivalent to £644million, and instructed her legal team to return it.
Ms Arnall, who reverted to her maiden name, has rejected the divorce settlement as she believes she is entitled to more of an empire once valued at £12billion.
But she is not the only one appealing the November divorce ruling.
Mr Hamm, who Forbes value at £5.2billion, is counter-claiming, saying the original judgment was too high.
The billionaire CEO of oil driller Continental Resources claimed the fall in oil prices has cost him more than half his fortune in the last few months.
The bitter divorce settlement hinges on Mr Hamm’s worth – which is as volatile as the fluctuating cost of a barrel of oil – with appeals to be heard by Oklahoma supreme court.
Ms Arnall, a former Continental executive who was married to Mr Hamm for 26 years, said the award of cash and assets was inadequate and allowed her former husband to keep the lion’s share of their joint fortune.
Mr Hamm had already paid his ex-wife more than £13million during their divorce proceedings.
The couple, who have two adult daughters, married in 1988 but did not sign a pre-nuptial agreement.
Since the pair married, Continental Resource’s worth has grown from less than £33million to £13billion. And because Mr Hamm owned his shares in the company before he and Ms Arnall were married, they belong to him.
But under Oklahoma law, the shares’ increase in value since 1988 can be fairly divided with Ms Arnall.
Mr Hamm started out in the oil industry as a teenager, pumping petrol and changing tyres.
The tycoon, who was the 13th child of poor farmers, founded his first business, Harold Hamm Tank Trucks, in 1966. He is now one of the world’s most successful fracking pioneers, with Continental Resources producing 168,000 barrels of oil a day. He once said: “My biggest advantage is that I was born with no advantage.”
Family law experts say the pair’s divorce appeal process could take from 18 months to several years.
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