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[Dram]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/business/harold-hamm-oklahoma-oilman-billion-dollar-divorce.html?_r=0

During his nearly 50 years as an Oklahoma oil man, Harold Hamm has done everything on a huge scale. The chief executive and majority shareholder of Continental Resources, he owns the largest piece of the greatest oil discovery of our age, in the shale-rich plains of North Dakota. His net worth has been pegged at more than $18 billion by Forbes, making him the 24th richest man in the country.

Now another superlative can be added to Mr. Hamm’s outsize career: He is paying one of the biggest divorce settlements in history.

After a secretive, nine-week trial, a judge in Oklahoma City has ruled that the 68-year-old Mr. Hamm must pay nearly $1 billion to his ex-wife, Sue Ann Hamm. With the bang of a gavel, Ms. Hamm has joined the ranks of the wealthiest women in the United States.

Or rather, she will join those ranks over time. The judgment requires Mr. Hamm to pay his ex-wife about $320 million, or one-third of the total settlement, by the end of 2014. The rest is to be paid in chunks of at least $7 million a month. For a little perspective, that figure is slightly larger than last year’s salary of the chief executive of U.S. Steel.

The settlement looks economy-class compared with the $4.8 billion that the Russian oligarch and “fertilizer king” Dmitry Rybolovlev paid his ex-wife, Elena, this year. But the payment is large enough that the presiding judge in the case, Howard Haralson, placed a lien on 20 million shares — or more than $ 1 billion — of Mr. Hamm’s Continental stock.

Mr. Hamm, who has described himself as “more hardheaded than other people,” did not have a particular document that is all but standard now whenever tycoons wed: a prenuptial agreement. Barring future fiascos, this will surely stand as the costliest decision of Mr. Hamm’s life. He has already paid his ex-wife roughly $25 million since the case was filed in 2012, the ruling stated.

Aside from the final judgment, little of the proceedings have been public. But enough about the case has come to light to make clear that it did not stint on drama. In a 2013 filing, Ms. Hamm accused her husband of infidelity, and seven years ago — after she had moved out of their home and to a different city — she began documenting his extramarital behavior on audio and video tapes. Lawyers for Mr. Hamm would later demand those tapes as a way to prove that the two hadn’t lived as husband and wife for a long time.

Filings by Mr. Hamm’s lawyers stated that the union had been loveless for more than a decade, a “marriage in name only.” Ms. Hamm’s lawyers retorted in a filing of their own that “nothing under Oklahoma law suggests that a loveless marriage does not qualify as a marriage for the purposes of property division issues.”

Mr. Hamm has two adult daughters with Sue Ann Hamm, Jane and Hillary. His first marriage, to Judith Ann Hamm, ended when she accused him of having an affair with Sue Ann.

Mod abuse for additional context:

Harold Hamm was just another middle-age multimillionaire when he married Sue Ann Hamm, his second wife and a woman a decade his junior, in 1988. At the time, Ms. Hamm was a lawyer at Continental and Mr. Hamm was just beginning to snap up roughly one million acres of land leases in North Dakota, Montana and parts of Canada in what is the Bakken formation.

The Bakken turned out to be a rich underground trove. The question at the center of the divorce trial was what exactly led Mr. Hamm to it and his epochal fortune — expertise or dumb luck?

Under Oklahoma law, the answer matters. The money a spouse earns while married can be part of a divorce settlement if it is made through skill. If, on the other hand, the increase is attributable to “changing economic conditions, or circumstances beyond the parties’ control,” as the state’s Supreme Court put it in a 1995 case, then that money is off the table.

The law put Mr. Hamm and his lawyers in an odd spot. They had to argue that one of the country’s singular entrepreneurs, an up-from-nothing wildcatter, had essentially stumbled into his billions. This seemed like a tough sell. Mr. Hamm was once quoted as saying that “My biggest advantage is that I was born with no advantage.”

As Mr. Hamm sought to poor-mouth his prowess, his company followed suit. Continental’s proxy filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for years have praised Mr. Hamm for “his leadership and business judgment.” Not anymore. As Reuters wrote in September, that phrase was excised in the company’s most recent proxy, along with a reference to Mr. Hamm as “one of the driving forces” behind Continental.

Judge Haralson did not seem to buy this just-lucky account of Mr. Hamm’s accomplishments. In arriving at the settlement terms, the judge cited Mr. Hamm’s “skills and efforts” and said his leadership spurred an “increase in value for Continental.” He also called Mr. Hamm “an expert in the oil field service business” and even after this ruling, Mr. Hamm remains one of the richest. As a fraction of his net worth, the settlement leaves him with many billions to spare.

 

[wildfire]

Trickle down economics is working.

 

[Halcyon]

I think that's a bit ridiculous. I don't care if he was a bad husband. Just because you marry a rich person doesn't mean you should get half their stuff just because.

But that's just my opinion.

 

[Stet]

1) Get a pre-nup.

2) Don't cheat constantly.

 

[diamount]

I think that's a bit ridiculous. I don't care if he was a bad husband. Just because you marry a rich person doesn't mean you should get half their stuff just because.

But that's just my opinion.

Thats why richies hide their money overseas.

 

[Dalek]

.

 

[Anion]

I think I have a chance now

Spoiler

to become a rich heart breaker

But yeah, 1 billion is an insane amount. I don't really understand how they came to that amount?

 

[Chumly]

I think that's a bit ridiculous. I don't care if he was a bad husband. Just because you marry a rich person doesn't mean you should get half their stuff just because.

But that's just my opinion.

He wasn't super rich when they married. Their wealth grew during the marriage. That is why she is getting so much.

 

[diamount]

I think I have a chance now

Spoiler

to become a rich heart breaker

But yeah, 1 billion is an insane amount. I don't really understand how they came to that amount?

It's generally 50%, no?

 

[-COOLIO-]

i understand people finding this excessive, but shit, we have to spread the wealth somehow.

 

[Kieli]

Pre-nuptials can be overturned, or so I learned from Gaf.

So really the only thing to do when you got money is to not marry.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

:claps:

Good for her!

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

I think I have a chance now

Spoiler

to become a rich heart breaker

But yeah, 1 billion is an insane amount. I don't really understand how they came to that amount?

"She's accustomed to the lifestyle." I had this argument with a few coworkers when there were rumors of Tiger Woods' settlement being in the range of 300 million.

It's like, realistically, even if you have two kids, and you raise them from birth to the age of 18, $1 million US dollars a year, per child, is more than enough to ensure that the kids are in the top 1% of people in the world in terms of lifestyle. Over 18 years, that's $36 million for two kids. Say you round up for inflation, you get to $70 or $100 million even.

Why is $300 million reasonable in any way, shape or form? What are you giving compensation for? It seems much more like a) an award for successfully marrying "up" an b) a penalty for breaking your marriage vows. I don't believe the judicial system has any business doing either.

 

[Uncle_Classy]

Good for her. Spread that wealth around!

 

[victreeb3l]

Thats excessive. These divorce settlements are unreasonable and out of control.

 

[SilentRacoon]

Well he married to a mining enterpriser, what did he expected?

 

[Kwixotik]

If you ain't no punk, holla we want prenup WE WANT PRENUP YEEAH

The settlement looks economy-class compared with the $4.8 billion that the Russian oligarch and “fertilizer king” Dmitry Rybolovlev paid his ex-wife

lol he's a shitlord

 

[SliceSabre]

Lesson here: Get a pre-nup fellas

 

[Jack Scofield]

When all is said and done, I bet his life won't change at all with 1 billion gone. Like, if you somehow kept this a secret and stole a billion from his bank account, he probably wouldn't even notice a difference.

 

[industrian]

Trickle down economics is working.

Sloppy seconds capitalism.

 

[Blair]

No sympathy.

If you go through life making decisions that earn you billions then why the fuck at any point in your life would you sign a contract that potentially could cost you half your wealth? How do these clearly shrewd people keep fucking that up?

 

[MoodyFog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SniOXFhwIZ8

 

[HyperZone<3]

the guy's worth 18 billion, losing %5.5 doesn't strike me as excessive.

 

[Mumei]

the guy's worth 18 billion, losing %5.5 doesn't strike me as excessive.

Definitely not.

 

[Ties]

You guys are acting as if his losing $1 billion can significantly affect his quality of living at this point.

 

[AliasGreed]

Lesson here: Get a pre-nup fellas

Pre-nup doesnt really mean anything in this day and age.

Hypothetical: I own a house, I get a pre-nup for said house, and get married. 5 years later My wife cheats on me and I have 1 child and I get divorced. Regardless of how much money my wife makes I can't leave her and the child on the street, plus I have to pay child support.

Now whats cheaper: Getting a 1 room apartment for yourself and leaving them the house or getting them a house and you stay living in your house ?

Either way your screwed.

 

[Rivitur]

Pfft he should have paid the judge more money.

 

[Chumly]

Pre-nup doesnt really mean anything in this day and age.

Hypothetical: I own a house, I get a pre-nup for said house, and get married. 5 years later My wife cheats on me and I have 1 child and I get divorced. Regardless of how much money my wife makes I can't leave her and the child on the street, plus I have to pay child support.

Now whats cheaper: Getting a 1 room apartment for yourself anf leaving them the house or getting them a house and you stay living in your house ?

Either way your screwed.

In your hypothetical your wife would have to give you the value of the house from the rest of your assets. So you wouldn't be losing anything. Not for sure what the problem is.

Edit: or you know..... Just not let her have the house. She can get her own apartment.

 

[Borgnine]

As far as I know prenups only protect money you made before the marriage. They've been married for the last 26 years, in which time they made billions of dollars together.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

You guys are acting as if his losing $1 billion can significantly affect his quality of living at this point.

How does giving her 1 billion change her quality of life over say, $500 million, $100 million, or even $50 million?

 

[AliasGreed]

I guess my point is you can't leave your significant other on the street regardless of how much money they make or prenup. You need to help them.

Which I agree with except when the other party was wrong.

 

[Arcteryx]

Trickling down indeed. $7mil a month.

 

[Epsilon-delta]

Pre-nup doesnt really mean anything in this day and age.

Hypothetical: I own a house, I get a pre-nup for said house, and get married. 5 years later My wife cheats on me and I have 1 child and I get divorced. Regardless of how much money my wife makes I can't leave her and the child on the street, plus I have to pay child support.

Now whats cheaper: Getting a 1 room apartment for yourself and leaving them the house or getting them a house and you stay living in your house ?

Either way your screwed.

If you owned your house before you got married, she couldn't touch your house regardless if there was a prenup or not.

 

[captive]

You guys are acting as if his losing $1 billion can significantly affect his quality of living at this point.

i think its less about how it affects him, and more about what did she do to really earn that money?

Also, if she gets this 1 billion, would she have to pay taxes on it?

 

[jmood88]

If you know you're the type of guy who's going to cheat, why bother getting married? I've never understood why these super-rich guys get married when they clearly aren't interested in being monogamous.

 

[AliasGreed]

If you owned your house before you got married, she couldn't touch your house regardless if there was a prenup or not.

I understand that but regardless of that fact you can't leave your ex- wife on the street. So many times its cheaper to leave them your house than to get them an apartment.

It boils down to economics and whats better for you to do, i guess.

 

[Lum1n3s]

Isn't the way it normally works in terms of divorces is that whatever you earn during your marriage is what you're supposed to give a portion of during a divorce while anything before you got married doesn't count?

 

[Borgnine]

i think its less about how it affects him, and more about what did she do to really earn that money?

What the fuck did he do to really earn that money?

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

What the fuck did he do to really earn that money?

Hamm worked his way up from pumping gas and repairing cars[10] to becoming CEO of his own billion-dollar company.

With his high school diploma.

 

[Mumei]

The OP really ought to have quoted this. It helps to explain the legal basis for the number:

Harold Hamm was just another middle-age multimillionaire when he married Sue Ann Hamm, his second wife and a woman a decade his junior, in 1988. At the time, Ms. Hamm was a lawyer at Continental and Mr. Hamm was just beginning to snap up roughly one million acres of land leases in North Dakota, Montana and parts of Canada in what is the Bakken formation.

The Bakken turned out to be a rich underground trove. The question at the center of the divorce trial was what exactly led Mr. Hamm to it and his epochal fortune &#8212; expertise or dumb luck?

Under Oklahoma law, the answer matters. The money a spouse earns while married can be part of a divorce settlement if it is made through skill. If, on the other hand, the increase is attributable to &#8220;changing economic conditions, or circumstances beyond the parties&#8217; control,&#8221; as the state&#8217;s Supreme Court put it in a 1995 case, then that money is off the table.

The law put Mr. Hamm and his lawyers in an odd spot. They had to argue that one of the country&#8217;s singular entrepreneurs, an up-from-nothing wildcatter, had essentially stumbled into his billions. This seemed like a tough sell. Mr. Hamm was once quoted as saying that &#8220;My biggest advantage is that I was born with no advantage.&#8221;

As Mr. Hamm sought to poor-mouth his prowess, his company followed suit. Continental&#8217;s proxy filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for years have praised Mr. Hamm for &#8220;his leadership and business judgment.&#8221; Not anymore. As Reuters wrote in September, that phrase was excised in the company&#8217;s most recent proxy, along with a reference to Mr. Hamm as &#8220;one of the driving forces&#8221; behind Continental.

Judge Haralson did not seem to buy this just-lucky account of Mr. Hamm&#8217;s accomplishments. In arriving at the settlement terms, the judge cited Mr. Hamm&#8217;s &#8220;skills and efforts&#8221; and said his leadership spurred an &#8220;increase in value for Continental.&#8221; He also called Mr. Hamm &#8220;an expert in the oil field service business&#8221; and even after this ruling, Mr. Hamm remains one of the richest. As a fraction of his net worth, the settlement leaves him with many billions to spare.

 

[Chumly]

I understand that but regardless of that fact you can't leave your ex- wife on the street. So many times its cheaper to leave them your house than to get them an apartment.

It boils down to economics and whats better for you to do, i guess.

????? So you are saying that you would feel guilty kicking her out? That had nothing to do with what is required legally. She can get her own apartment. I do not see why this is a big deal. It happens all the time. Your not "leaving her for the streets".

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Under Oklahoma law, the answer matters. The money a spouse earns while married can be part of a divorce settlement if it is made through skill. If, on the other hand, the increase is attributable to “changing economic conditions, or circumstances beyond the parties’ control,” as the state’s Supreme Court put it in a 1995 case, then that money is off the table.

That seems so backwards. You reward people for luck and punish them for skill. The entirety of law around divorce settlements and alimony is so backwards, especially in a modern context.

 

[captive]

What the fuck did he do to really earn that money?

i knew this was going to come up, so here you go.

Hamm was born in Lexington, Oklahoma, the 13th and youngest child of Oklahoma cotton sharecroppers.[3] Hamm is a graduate of Enid High School. His highest level of education is a high school diploma.[10][11]

Hamm worked his way up from pumping gas and repairing cars[10] to becoming CEO of his own billion-dollar company. He has been the CEO of Continental Resources since 1967,[16] when the company was called Shelly Dean Oil Company.[17] Hamm and Continental Resources pioneered the development of the Bakken Oil Field in Montana and North Dakota. He became a billionaire and Continental Resources became a major oil producer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hamm
sounds like to me, he came from a poor family, busted his ass, got a little luck and is pretty smart to have worked his way up to CEO.

 

[Mumei]

That seems so backwards. You reward people for luck and punish them for skill. The entirety of law around divorce settlements and alimony is so backwards, especially in a modern context.

Honestly, it does sound a little odd to me, too. I wonder what the rationale for that difference is, exactly. Presumably the state Supreme Court case explains it in the decision, but I don't know the name of the case.

Spoiler

Maybe I'll get bored and try figuring out tonight.

 

[Spinluck]

Don't care who you are, if you're a billionaire rich person and you're marrying - you gotta get that prenuptial.

 

[Kinyou]

Once you got used to that billionaire lifestyle you can't go back. What is she supposed to do, spend the rest of her life in only owning two yachts like a filthy millionaire? That's torture.

 

[Borgnine]

With his high school diploma.

sounds like to me, he came from a poor family, busted his ass, got a little luck and is pretty smart to have worked his way up to CEO.

My anti-capitalist socialist subtext was missed. I just don't think it's fair to call out the wife for receiving such an obscene amount of money for "doing nothing" when her husband made orders of magnitude more for doing something you or I could do.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

My anti-capitalist socialist subtext was missed. I just don't think it's fair to call out the wife for receiving such an obscene amount of money for "doing nothing" when her husband made orders of magnitude more for doing something you or I could do.

If you could start a multi-billion dollar business why haven't you?

 

[Borgnine]

If you could start a multi-billion dollar business why haven't you?

I don't think its right to earn billions of dollars.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

I don't think its right to earn billions of dollars.

Oh thank god, you are just a troll. I thought people actually thought like that for a minute. Upon reflection I find you hilarious.