Oklahoma Wife in Line for Biggest Divorce Settlement Ever

That’s the question the courts may be asking (though not as politely) Harold Hamm in what could be the biggest divorce settlement of all time.

Harold Hamm, the head honcho of giant oil company Continental Resources who’s estimated to be worth a little over $11 billion (that’s an 11 followed by 9 zeros for those playing along at home), married Sue Ann Himes in 1998 while she was working for the company.

At first, the office romance blossomed, and the happy Oklahoma couple had two kids: Jane and Hillary. And to help pay for diapers, formula, Dora the Explorer DVDs, and the other costs of parenthood, Continental Resources went public in 2007 and saw its stock price surge 500%. That meant more zeros added to the Hamm’s net worth.

However, the domestic skies darkened, and in 2012 Sue Ann filed for divorce, alleging that Harry was having an affair. She also revealed that while the couple had been experiencing marital problems, rumors that they had separated in 2005 were not true, as they continued to file joint tax returns, travel together, and raise their kids together.

And since Oklahoma considers wealth amassed during a marriage to be subject to “equitable distribution” between spouses upon divorce, absent any iron-clad prenuptial agreement, experts say that Sue Ann could be in line for the biggest settlement in history –one that would surpass the $1.7 billion that Rupert Murdoch, founder of News Corp, paid out to his former spouse Anna Murdoch in 1999.

 “I don’t know of anything that’s ever been this big,” commented Barbara Atwood, a University of Arizona professor of family law, told Reuters. “There’s just so much money involved.”