It's enough to make any Certified Divorce Financial Analyst salivate, or any jilted spouse, for that matter.
Society pages are burning up over the ongoing details of the split between oil billionaires Harold and Sue Ann Hamm. Sue Ann accuses Harold of infidelity, and if no prenuptial agreement exists, as Reuters speculates in a comprehensive piece on the breakup, the latter could not only lose $5 billion, but also control of Continental Resources, the company he founded in 1967.
On Forbes' 2013 World's Billionaires list, Harold is worth $11.3 billion, "the vast majority held in shares of his oil giant Continental Resources, the biggest player in the booming Bakken shale region of North Dakota," the magazine reports. No billionaire divorce settlement Forbes has uncovered over its years of tracking the super-wealthy comes close to that sum, it adds. It would easily top the list of AdvisorOne's 5 Super Costly Divorces of the Rich and Famous.
Forget the children—think of the shareholders. Since news of the Hamm divorce broke, analysts have puzzled over the long-term implications for Continental's stock, according to Forbes. The following statement appeared on Continental's website on Thursday:
"Today, Harold Hamm has announced that a petition for divorce is pending in the District Court of Oklahoma County. This private matter has not and is not anticipated to have any impact or effect on the Company's business or operations."
