Richest Celeb Divorces

[Rasputin]

Now, with the last legal hurdles cleared, the Beatles could at last be ready to take to the information superhighway.

BRITAIN is marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' iconic album, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with a modern rockers' recreation of the songs, amid renewed debate over its cultural significance.

Among a series of events, the BBC is set to broadcast a documentary on the 1967 album featuring cover versions of the Beatles tunes by Oasis, The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs among others.
The album, with its famous cover depicting the Fab Four flanked by a host of celebrities, includes such songs as A Day In The Life, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, When I'm 64 and With A Little Help From My Friends.

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was The Beatles' eighth album and was released on June 1, 1967.

In Liverpool, where the Beatles were formed, the anniversary will be marked with a collaboration between two of the northwest England city's Beatles tourist attractions.

The Beatles Story, which presents the band's story to visitors and the Beatles-linked Casbah Coffee Club have come together to display items featured on Peter Blake's ground-breaking Sgt Pepper's cover art.

These will include the medals worn by John Lennon on the multi-coloured album front, which were borrowed from Mona Best, mother of original Beatles drummer Pete Best.

Meanwhile, academics are preparing to hold a debate on the significance of the album, considered by many to be one of the most influential records of all time.

British and US experts will gather at the University of Leeds in northern England on June 19 to discuss its social and cultural impact, in an event open to the public.

Put simply, it's the most important album by the most important group, said the organiser of the seminar, Simon Warner.

It was a ground-breaking moment for popular music.

The whole album has so many colours and nuances - and that amazing multicoloured sleeve perfectly echoes what's going on inside, he added.

For the BBC documentary, Geoff Emerick, the audio engineer who recorded the original album at Abbey Road studios in north-west London, has recorded the new versions with the same four-track equipment originally used.

This will be not only a unique radio event, but a very special musical moment, said Lesley Douglas, controller of the BBC Radio 2 channel.

The range and quality of artists involved ensure that this will be a fitting tribute to one of the great albums of all time.

Other top acts who have recorded new versions for the BBC documentary, to be aired tomorrow, include The Fratellis, Travis, Razorlight and James Morrison.

[Rasputin]

Yes, the nearly $50 million Paul McCartney is paying ex-wife Heather Mills is a lot of money, but it's no record-breaker as far as celebrity divorce settlements are concerned.

That crown still gets shared among basketball great Michael Jordan, musician Neil Diamond and box-office champ Steven Spielberg and their exes.

After nearly 18 years together, Juanita Jordan walked away from her marriage to the hoop star in 2006 with a $150 million parting gift, just like onetime TV production assistant Marcia Murphey received from Diamond – to whom she was married from 1969 (before he hit it big) to 1996.

Spielberg's four-year marriage to actress Amy Irving ended in 1989 with his ex-spouse awarded roughly half of the filmmaker's fortune, about $100 million, according to Forbes magazine.

On McCartney and Mills's side of the Atlantic, Prince Charles's settlement with ex-wife Princess Diana in their 1996 divorce was believed to be $32 million.

In terms of other high-priced settlements, the publication cites Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison (estimated $85 million, in 2004); Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva ($80 million, in 1994); McCartney and Mills; Titanic director James Cameron and actress Linda Hamilton (also $50 million, in 1999); Michael Douglas and first wife Diandra ($45 million, in 1998 ); Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall ($15 to $25 million); and Lionel Richie and his second wife, Diane ($20 million, in 2004).

[Rasputin]

Speaking on the steps of the High Court in London Monday, Heather Mills declared herself "so, so happy" with her nearly $50 million divorce settlement from Paul McCartney.

The 40-year-old ex-wife of the former Beatle said she was "just glad it was over," referring to the long-running and often acrimonious split.

McCartney, 65, upon exiting the court in an indifferent mood, merely said to waiting reporters, "All will be revealed."

Mills explained: "I am standing here because Paul is insistent on the whole judgment being put out. I've said that if the whole judgment goes out then all the transcripts have to go out because it's going to be written in a way that they will try and make it that I wasn't successful."

The summary states that the judge decided McCartney should pay Mills a lump sum of around $33 million, which together with existing assets of around $15 million means she will gain a divorce totaling nearly $50 million. The judge deemed that she had overspent during nearly two years of separation by $1 million.

McCartney, who has long been estimated to be worth $1.7 billion, was found by the judge to only have assets of half that figure.

The couple, who were married for just under four years, were not allowed to raise the issue of alleged misconduct, since the judge considered such details irrelevant.


Provisions for Beatrice
The judge calculated Mill's annual income needs at about $1.2 million and included a sum of $5 million for her to buy a property in London.

A provision for daughter Beatrice consisting of periodical $70,000 payments was included, and McCartney has agreed to pay for her nanny and school fees. Of the provision, Mills said, "Beatrice only gets $70,000 a year so she is obviously meant to travel B class while her father travels A class. But obviously I will pay for that."

The court has imposed a blanket order preventing disclosure of details revealed during the court case and in documents tendered to the court.

[Rasputin]

Paul McCartney and Heather Mills met face-to-face in court Monday to learn the result of their long and messy divorce.

After hours inside, Mills, 40, emerged to tell reporters, "It's over." She promised to reveal more details shortly, and as McCartney, 65, walked out, he said, "All will be revealed."

McCartney arrived at Court 34 in London's Royal Courts of Justice just after 10, humming a tune to himself. Wearing a white shirt, blue tie and his trademark black sneakers he refused to comment to waiting reporters.

His estranged wife – representing herself in court – arrived shortly after, looking stylish in a blue and tan vest, blue pants and clutching a pink Von Dutch bag.

The judge, Mr Justice Bennett, is expected to award Mills, 40, about $50M – a figure that has been widely reported – but it is unknown whether the details will be made public. That is just one of the decisions being thrashed out in Monday's hearing.

The pair wed in June 2002 and separated in May 2006, and McCartney filed for divorce the following July.

The couple, who wed in an Irish castle, have a 4-year-old daughter, Beatrice.

Mills's former spokesman, Phil Hall, says that for her this has not been about the money but what, she sees, as "fair entitlement" for herself and the couple's child. "It is preposterous to think that Bea should live in a palace with one parent where she will get much attention and be surrounded by lovely toys as she would always want to be in the palace. She should live as equally as possible in both homes."

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