Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Princess Haya bint Hussein divorced after 15 years, 9 months of marriage. The settlement was reportedly an estimated…
Figures are reported estimates. Last updated Oct 2026.
Dubai ruler's divorce, decided in the London High Court.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the ruler of Dubai and the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and a leading figure in international horse racing. Princess Haya bint Hussein is a daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan and a half-sister of King Abdullah II, an accomplished equestrian who competed at the Olympic Games. They married in 2004, when she was his sixth wife according to press accounts, and had two children, a daughter, Al Jalila, born in 2007, and a son, Zayed, born in 2012.
The sheikh's wealth comes from his position as ruler of Dubai, which gave him access to a vast network of state-linked companies and investments, and from the Godolphin racing operation, one of the biggest thoroughbred breeding and racing enterprises in the world. His family also owns major property in Britain, including stud farms and an estate in Berkshire. Because the line between personal and state resources is hard to draw, estimates of his net worth vary widely.
The couple married in 2004 and lived between Dubai and Britain. In April 2019 Haya left Dubai with her two children and moved to London, saying she feared for her safety. The sheikh later announced that he had divorced her under Islamic law. A series of court cases in the English High Court followed, covering custody, protection orders and finances. In 2021 the court published findings about the treatment of other members of the sheikh's family, and the financial settlement was decided in December 2021.
In December 2021 the High Court ordered the sheikh to pay roughly £554 million, or around $730 million, in a settlement that included a large lump sum for Haya and, separately, provision for the long-term security and care of the two children. The judge said that the award was meant to meet needs rather than to share out a fortune. The amount is one of the largest ever awarded by an English court.
English family law is based on the needs of the parties and their children as well as on fairness, and a large part of the award was for security. The court heard that the family faced threats and that Haya and the children needed protection for the rest of their lives, which added greatly to the cost. The sheikh's wealth also meant that the court could award a very large sum without affecting his basic position.
The ruling did not affect the sheikh's control of Dubai's institutions or of Godolphin. It did cost him a significant sum, and the publicity from the case, including the court's findings, was damaging to his image abroad. Haya remained in Britain with the children and withdrew from most of her public roles in Jordan and the UAE.
The case is one of the largest in English legal history, in the same bracket as Boris Berezovsky's divorce, and it is different from most of the entries on this site because the money was driven by security needs. By contrast with the Bezos or Gates divorces, no company stock was divided.
Haya competed in show jumping at the 2000 Olympic Games and later served as president of the International Equestrian Federation. The court case produced a series of published judgments that revealed details of the sheikh's family life. The reported $730 million figure is converted from pounds and varies with the exchange rate.
Princess Haya bint Hussein's reported settlement was about $730 million.
They married in 2004 and divorced in 2019, a marriage of roughly 15 years.
No prenuptial agreement was reported.
Yes, the family is reported to include 2 children.
Included in settlement.
Reported assets include: Dubai holdings, Godolphin racing empire, estates in England.
English family law is based on the needs of the parties and their children as well as on fairness, and a large part of the award was for security. The court heard that the family faced threats and that Haya and the children needed protection for the rest of their lives, which added greatly to the cost.
* Settlement terms were not publicly disclosed. This figure is an estimate.