Sue Ann Hamm, ex-wife of Oklahoma billionaire Harold Hamm, received $1 billion in her divorce settlement on Monday, but she plans to appeal the decision and argue that the payout was only a small percentage of the
couple's wealth, Reuters reported.
Under Monday's settlement, Harold Hamm, oil magnate and Continental Resources founder and CEO, will keep 94 percent of the $18 billion rise in his company shares that occurred during the couple’s 26-year marriage, the wire service noted.
But one of Sue Ann Hamm’s attorneys told Reuters the Oklahoma court decision was "not equitable."
The court ordered Harold Hamm to pay his ex-wife $995 million and, in addition, she will keep properties in California and Oklahoma, which are worth millions. Harold Hamm owns 68 percent of his company’s stock, which was valued at around $13.5 billion in November and $18 billion before the two-month divorce trial, the news organization reported. Oil prices have dropped, accounting for a decreased stock price.
The judge in the case ruled that $1.4 billion of the growth of the Continental Resource stock was "marital capital," while the rest of the dollars were to be left with Harold Hamm as "separate property," Reuters said.
Sue Ann Hamm, an attorney and economist, worked at the company during part of her marriage and was, at one point, in charge of the crude marketing division. At other times she was a stay-at-home mother.
The New York Times said a pivotal question in determining how the money is split under Oklahoma law lies in why or how Harold Hamm grew his fortune.
"The money a spouse earns while married can be part of a divorce settlement if it is made through skill," The Times said. "If, on the other hand, the increase is attributable to 'changing economic conditions, or circumstances beyond the parties' control,' as the state’s Supreme Court put it in a 1995 case, then that money is off the table."
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