KEY POINTS:
The bigger they are, the harder they fall - especially in the world of celebrity divorce.
Basketball great Michael Jordan, singer-songwriter Neil Diamond and Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg top a new Forbes magazine list of the most costly divorce settlements of the stars.
Jordan's pending divorce from his wife of nearly 18 years, Chicago bank officer Juanita Vanoy, could end up as the most expensive in entertainment history, Forbes said, if she walks away with half his fortune.
With Jordan having earned much of his wealth during his marriage, most of it through endorsement deals, Vanoy - who filed for divorce last year - stands to collect more than $US150 million ($204 million), the magazine said.
A close second would be the estimated US$150 million settlement Diamond paid to one-time TV production assistant Marcia Murphey, whom he married in 1969 before his breakthrough album, Touching You, Touching Me, went gold.
They divorced in 1996 and Diamond later said Murphey, his second wife, was "worth every penny," according to Forbes.
Spielberg's first marriage, to actress Amy Irving, ended in 1989 with her awarded roughly half of the film-maker's fortune, about US$100 million, ranking No 3 on Forbes' list.
The magazine ranked the pending divorce between former Beatle Paul McCartney and ex-model Heather Mills at No 6, based on reports suggesting she may collect more than $US60 million
- Reuters
Big losers
1 Michael Jordan US$150m+
2 Neil Diamond US$150m
3 Steven Spielberg US$50m
4 Harrison Ford US$84m
5 Kevin Costner US$80m
6 Paul McCartney US$60m
7 James Cameron US$50m
8 Michael Douglas US$45m
9 Lionel Richie US$20m
10 Mick Jagger US$15m-$25m
