Holiday Sports Feature

Chelsea owner Abramovich divorces wife

(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-15 06:40

The Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich has divorced his wife in what is thought to be one of the world's largest divorce settlements, it was reported yesterday.

The billionaire owner of Chelsea football club divorced his wife, Irina, on a "consensual basis" in Russia.

In a statement, the couple said they had agreed a financial settlement and an arrangement over access to their five children. Reports on the size of the settlement vary from $1.9 billion to $10.5 billion.

Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich and his wife Irina applaud while watching Chelsea play at their London stadium in January last year. AP

Abramovich's spokesman, John Mann, said Chelsea would not be affected by the divorce proceedings.

He added that the couple, who had reportedly been married for 15 years, would be making no further comment and would "appreciate it if the family's privacy would be respected".

The divorce announcement was reported to have been prompted by paparazzi pictures of Abramovich, whose fortune is estimated at $21 billion, with young student Daria Zhukova.

Abramovich appears in Forbes magazine's list of the world's 50 richest people and is second on Britain's Sunday Times rich list, which rates the wealthiest people in the UK.

He made his first fortune through oil deals in Russia's 1990s privatization boom following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The tycoon earned a significant amount from his involvement as a major shareholder in Sibneft, the world's fourth largest oil company, the Russian airline Aeroflot and the country's aluminium industry.

That wealth allowed him to buy debt-ridden Chelsea in 2003, turning it into one of the world's biggest-spending football clubs.

The collapse of his marriage is the latest involving the super-rich. The insurance magnate John Charman is currently trying to claw back more than half the biggest award in British legal history from his former wife.

Charman, who owns the Axis insurance group, is arguing in the court of appeal that his 20 million pound ($38 million) offer was more than adequate and a 70 million pound ($133 million) family trust should not have been taken into account when the total assets of the marriage were assessed at 131 million pounds ($250 million).

His former wife, Beverley Charman, was awarded 48 million pounds ($92 million) by the high court last year.

Divorce lawyers said at the time of the ruling which reduced Charman's wealth to around 87 million pounds ($166 million) that the case was likely to have ramifications for the forthcoming case between Heather Mills and Sir Paul McCartney.

Guardian

(China Daily 03/15/2007 page11)