The Largest Civil Settlement Awards in France, and He Got Off Easy
By switching venues, one of the world’s richest men, Aga Khan, has saved himself millions while still having to pay out a staggering £54 million to divorce his wife, Begum Inaara.
Christopher Leake and Peter Allen in MailOnline reported in “54m divorce for Aga Khan...and he’s got off lightly as it could have been 500m,” that the billionaire’s move to have the divorce adjudicated in France, rather than in the U.K., was a financially savvy decision. French courts typically issue much lower civil awards than in England.
Khan, who has residences on five continents, married the former Gabriele zu Leningen at one of his estates in France in 1998. Although he is a British subject, Khan apparently spends most of his time in France, and French authorities apparently did not object to having his divorce case administered there. Still, the settlement set a record for the largest of its kind in France.
Leiningen, or Aga Khan, will also receive the Berkshire estate where she lives with the couple’s 11-year son, Prince Aly.
Khan is a spiritual leader among Ismaili Muslims who give him vast sums of money and worship him as their god. Revelations that Khan was having an extramarital affair with an air hostess may not be received favorably by his followers.
The Aga Khan previously divorced a British model, Sally Croker-Poole, in 1995, paying her £20 million.
Information in this post gathered in association with Missouri divorce lawyers.
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