10 FEBRUARY 2003
One week after one of the world's wealthiest men, the Sultan of Brunei, announced he was divorcing his second wife Mariam, experts speculate his 47-year-old estranged spouse may be in for the biggest divorce payout in history.

Under Muslim law, a husband is obliged to provide his former wife maintenance. So, with the Sultan's £7 billion fortune – which includes 165 Rolls-Royces, 300 sports cars, multiple private jets and a cruise liner – Mariam's slice could be in the hundreds of millions.

However, one Muslim divorce law specialist told the Malay Mail: "If the wife is found to be nusyuz, or having misbehaved in a way that breaches the marriage contract, then she is not entitled to… her husband's property."

If a massive settlement is decided upon, previous high-profile payouts will seem paltry in comparison. The ex-wife of real estate mogul Donald Trump, Ivana, walked away with £8 million while Diana, Princess of Wales received £15 million in her settlement.

In one of the most impressive deals in recent memory, the British-born former wife of the Aga Khan, Sally Croker-Poole, is said to have received a whopping £50 million in cash and jewels when they split in 1995.