Vladimir Potanin is the second richest man in Russia and is facing one of the biggest divorces in the world.
Vladimir Potanin, Russia’s second-richest man, is facing one of the largest divorce claims in the world after Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
His ex-wife, Natalia Potanina, is claiming 50% of the value of his stake in MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC, setting the maximum amount at a London court on Tuesday. That amount could exceed $7 billion, given that Potanin owns about a third of the metal producer.
Potanin is fighting the case after Potanina overturned a lower court accusing her of “divorce tourism”. Potanin is still waiting to see if the UK Supreme Court will consider the appeal, Judge Nicholas Francis said.
London’s divorce courts have been a popular destination for high-value legal battles, with judges often prepared to order an equal division of a couple’s assets. In the UK, the largest amount made public in a divorce is currently £450 million ($631 million) to billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov’s wife – although the two settled with less than a third of the payout. that money.
Potanina says that in addition to Norilsk shares, she will be willing to accept 50% of all dividends on shares from 2014. Her ex-husband has collected about 487.3 billion rubles ($6.6 billion) in shares. since then and has a net worth of $29.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Potanina is also looking for half the value of an expensive real estate in Russia called the Autumn House.
Potanina said she received about $40 million after the divorce proceedings in Russia while Potanin said she received $84 million – an amount that by English standards is a “small prize” for his wealth and the length of their 31-year marriage, a judge said in an earlier decision.
Frances Hughes, Potanina’s attorney, declined to comment. An attorney for Potanin did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Another Russian billionaire, Dmitry Rybolovlev, was the subject of a high-profile divorce that took place across six jurisdictions and resulted in many years of marriage. In 2014, a Swiss judge awarded his ex-wife, Elena Rybolovleva, $4.5 billion, although the ruling later cut the amount to just over $600 million.
