Settlement: $975M
Cost/Day: $99K
The oil tycoon wrote a personal check for $974.8 million.
Harold Hamm is one of America's foremost self-made oil billionaires, the founder and chairman of Continental Resources, which became one of the largest independent oil producers in the United States. Sue Ann Arnall was an attorney who worked as a lawyer for Continental Resources before marrying Harold in 1988. Their relationship was notable for the degree to which their professional and personal lives overlapped, making the eventual divorce an unusually complex legal and financial affair.
Hamm grew up in poverty in rural Oklahoma, one of thirteen children, and worked his way into the oil industry from the ground up. Continental Resources was his creation, and he built it into a powerhouse through the development of shale oil fields — particularly in North Dakota's Bakken formation. His timing proved extraordinary: the shale oil revolution that he helped pioneer made his fortune one of the most dramatic rags-to-riches stories in American energy history.
Harold and Sue Ann married in 1988. Their divorce proceedings began in 2012 and dragged on through years of intense legal wrangling in the Oklahoma courts. The case was closely watched by the energy industry, as the outcome had implications for the value and control of Continental Resources. The divorce was finally resolved in late 2014 after an Oklahoma district court judge issued a ruling that neither side found entirely satisfactory.
The Oklahoma court ordered Harold to pay Sue Ann approximately $975 million — and in one of the most theatrical moments in the history of American divorce law, Harold personally wrote her a cheque for $974,790,317.77. Sue Ann rejected it, arguing the amount was too low given Harold's wealth. She eventually accepted a modified settlement, though the final figure remained in that range.
Oklahoma is an equitable distribution state, meaning courts divide marital assets fairly rather than simply splitting them in half. The central legal battle was over how much of Continental Resources' value was attributable to Harold's efforts during the marriage versus his pre-marital work. The court's ruling attempted to separate 'active' gains from 'passive' gains, ultimately awarding Sue Ann less than she had sought.
Despite the enormous settlement, Harold retained overwhelming control of Continental Resources and remained its largest shareholder. The company's stock price fluctuated significantly during the divorce proceedings as investors tracked the potential dilution of Harold's stake. Continental remained one of the most important independent oil producers in the US following the divorce.
At close to a billion dollars, the Hamm divorce sits comfortably in the upper tier of celebrity and business divorces, comparable to the Ecclestone settlement and significantly larger than most entertainment-world splits. It is particularly notable in American legal history for involving one of the most dramatic gestures in divorce proceedings — the personal billion-dollar cheque.
Harold Hamm has been married and divorced multiple times. His personal cheque to Sue Ann became a cultural touchstone — an image of the document circulated widely as a symbol of extreme wealth. Sue Ann's decision to reject it and continue litigating added months to the proceedings and attracted global media attention.