Attorney ex-wife rejects energy chief's $975M check; judge nixes reduction despite oil price plunge
An Oklahoma oil baron wrote a check to his ex-wife for almost $975 million on Monday.
But Sue Ann Arnall, a lawyer and economist, refused the payment, according to the Oklahoman and Value Walk, which provides a copy of the $974,790,317.77 check.
Arnall is appealing the divorce award as representing too small a share of the assets she and Harold Hamm accumulated during their quarter-century marriage, and her lawyer says accepting the check might be detrimental to her claims, reports Reuters. She has already received tens of millions of dollars as the divorce proceeded.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma County Special Judge Howard R. Haralson on Tuesday rejected an argument by Hamm, the founder and chief executive of Continental Resources Inc., that the divorce award should be reduced due to the falling price of oil, reports Bloomberg.
“We knew at the time of trial that oil prices were plummeting,” the judge said, explaining that he has already ruled in the case and understood “the relationship between the price of oil and the price of stock” when he made the divorce award.
Reportedly, the Nov. 10 award was $972 million; it appears the extra amount in the check written by Hamm represents subsequent interest accruing at the rate of $93,000 per day.
As of Nov. 10, Hamm’s estimated fortune was $16.1 billion and Continental’s share price was a little over $116. Now Hamm is said to be worth closer to $10 billion and his company’s share price today is around $34.
Haralson hasn’t yet ruled on potential alimony in the case.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Billionaire’s ex-wife appeals $995M award in divorce case”
