Ecclestone and Stunt’s Divorce Deal: Who Gets What?

When rich and/or famous couples decide to go their separate ways, a lot of speculation follows their decision. This is certainly true of Petra Ecclestone and James Stunt, who after first announcing their intention to split earlier this year, agreed a deal late last month to finally divorce. The biggest question arising from the split is the amount of money involved.

Petra Ecclestone’s father is the former Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone, who sold the commercial rights to the motorsport for £6.4 billion. The deal saw the 83-year-old take a back seat from the sport he helped to build up for four decades. This left him to enjoy his massive fortune and pass some of it on to Petra and his other daughter, Tamara.

Given Petra’s inherited wealth, any divorce settlement would see her now ex-husband receive a substantial sum. James, a businessman in his own right, is not worth quite as much, but has assets worth several million, including a collection of classic cars and two businesses. Many of the couple’s shared assets were bought for them by the Ecclestone Family.

Massive Settlement
The estimated worth of the now-divorced couple stands at £5.5 billion. The assets involved include a £158 million mansion in Los Angeles, several properties in London and an extensive vintage wine collection. It seems likely that James Stunt would gain more from the divorce than Petra, as he owned fewer assets than her.

Signing a prenuptial agreement should work in his favour. The couple did so earlier this year, costing them £16m and covering James’s possessions. As part of this agreement, James could be entitled to a share of Petra’s wealth. After hiring divorce lawyers to help finalise their split, the task of dividing up the couple’s assets begins.

The divorce settlement will be one of the biggest in history. With billions of pounds worth of property and money to share, the fact that an agreement has been reached will be a relief for all involved. In total, the final hearing reportedly ran for just five minutes. Given the sums of money involved, that shows a willingness to get the process done.

One-Sided Split
Petra and James had decided to split some of their assets during their divorce hearings, although the fate of their mansion in Los Angeles is yet to be determined. As their most valuable and desirable property, choosing who gets ownership of the mansion will attract more interest than almost any other shared assets.

If there is a 50/50 split between the two divorcees, then James will come away with more than Petra. Having a prenuptial agreement in place will have made the process of putting together a settlement far smoother than it would have been without one. However, some of his property, such as his two homes in London, may have gone to Petra.

A split down the middle would have seen assets worth £2.75bn go the way of James, minus some of the legal costs incurred. Much of their collective wealth is inherited, so it is likely that Bernie Ecclestone may end up paying for some of what the courts decided to award to James.