Jamie Cooper-Hohn, 49, an American woman who divorced her British husband, Sir Chris Hohn, 48 has been awarded about a third of her husband’s £1 billion fortune which stands at about £337 in a divorce suit in London. It has been described as one of the biggest divorce money fights seen in an English court.
The couple were said to haev fought over who should get what at a High Court trial this summer. While the husband wanted a quarter, the wife insisted on half of the wealth.
The trial judge, Justice Roberts eventually awarded Mrs. Cooper-Hohn 36 per cent – £337 million.
The judge said Sir Chris – who was educated at a state school and studied business and accounting at Southampton University – was a “financial genius” who had made a “special contribution” to the creation of the couple’s fortune.
She had announced the amount Mrs. Cooper-Hohn would get last month.
But her calculations on the exact size of the fortune, and the exact percentage Mrs. Cooper-Hohn would get, only emerged today when she delivered a detailed ruling on the case.
Legal experts say it is “certainly” one of the biggest payouts to be pocketed by an estranged wife.
But lawyers for Mrs. Cooper-Hohn have indicated that they might appeal.
Justice Roberts concluded that Sir Chris was the “generating force,” had “innovative vision,” had generated “truly vast wealth” and had a “special skill,” adding: “his business success could be viewed as “exceptional.”
“I take the view that he qualifies as a financial genius in his particular field of financial investment,” she added, in a written ruling.
“In these circumstances, I find that, on any view, there has been a special contribution made by the husband in this case and that such contribution should and will be reflected in a departure from equality in terms of the overall award which I propose to make.”
Mrs. Cooper-Hohn said the wealth had been created as a result of their “partnership”.
She said she had worked long hours on behalf of their charitable foundation and travelled.
[myad]
