A Russian divorcée, one year after winning an unprecedented $4.8 billion award from her philandering spouse, saw her windfall whacked to a mere $604 million by a Swiss appeals court.
Don’t fret too much for Elena Rybolovleva: The “loser” in the bitter six-year court battle can still live large in one of the two luxurious Swiss ski chalets awarded her by the Court of Justice in Geneva. The value of the Gstaad properties: A reported $146 million.
A lawyer for Elena vowed the real-life “War of the Roses” is far from over, promising an appeal of Wednesday’s decision that slashed last year’s record court-ordered payout from husband Dmitry Rybolovlev.
“Mrs. Rybolovleva won the first round,” her attorney, Marc Bonnant, told the newspaper Le Figaro. “She has partially lost the second round. There will be a third round.”
The Swiss court upheld the autonomy of trusts set up by fertilizer oligarch Rybolovlev, 48, for their two daughters, keeping that money separate from the rest of his vast fortune.
Elena Rybolovleva, also 48, accused her ex-hubby of using the trusts as a dodge to keep the cash out of her hands. Money from the trusts was spent on a 10-bedroom Manhattan apartment worth $88 million and other expensive trophy properties.
The ultra-expensive Central Park West penthouse was purchased as a multimillion-dollar crash pad for his older daughter, the wealthy businessman claimed.
A 2013 deal to settle the bitter marital battle with a $1 billion payout collapsed, with both sides blaming the other for the failed agreement.
Last year’s now-rejected settlement would have made the couple’s conspicuous uncoupling the most expensive divorce in history by far. Their daughters are 25-year-old Ekaterina and 14-year-old Anna.
A statement from the husband’s attorney Tetiana Bersheda expressed their “satisfaction at the outcome of this decision” and confidence that it would withstand any appeal.
The new ruling also granted Rybolovlev partial custody of teenage Anna — another victory for the so-called “Potash King.” Last year’s decision gave Elena custody of their daughter.
The two were married in 1987, and his net worth was recently estimated at $8.5 billion. Lawyers for Elena said her divorce filing was prompted by the oligarch’s flagrant cheating.
Dmitri Rybolovlev’s ex Elena Rybolovleva will still be living large in one of two of his Swiss estates.
The ex-husband is no stranger to hard-fought court struggles: He spent 11 months in jail before his acquittal in a 1996 plot to kill one of his business partners.
Dmitry Rybolovlev made his fortune in the fertilizer business, and is an owner of the French soccer club, Monaco. The art collector also owns works by Picasso, Van Gogh and Monet.
He was listed at No. 156 this year on the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people.
Rybolovleva lives in Switzerland, while her ex-spouse resides in a $300 million Monaco penthouse known as La Belle Epoque.
The two met as college students in Russia, and were wed a short time later.
*Culled from [email protected]
