December 16, 2008: Material Girl shares material with ex

Guy Ritchie to get $76-92 million divorce settlement from Madonna.

by Jeffrey Cottrill

Guy Ritchie is going to Snatch his share of Madonna's fortune after all.

Contrary to previous reports, which claimed that the 40-year-old British filmmaker waived his chance to receive cash in his divorce settlement, Madonna's spokeswoman has announced that Ritchie will get between £49 million and £60 million (or the rough equivalent of $76-92 million U.S.).

"I'd assume it's one of the largest payouts ever in a divorce settlement," Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's representative, told The Associated Press on December 15. It's about twice the amount that ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney paid to his former wife, Heather Mills.

Rosenberg also told AP that Madonna and Ritchie had yet to finalize custody arrangements for their children. They have an eight-year-old son, Rocco, and a three-year-old adopted son, David Banda. (Madonna, 50, also has a 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.)

More information on dividing marital property: Dividing Marital Property Avoiding Financial Disaster Securing Your Financial Future Who Gets What? Yours, Mine, and Ours

The settlement is a combination of cash and property, according to Rosenberg. Ritchie gets to keep Ashcombe House, the couple's £10-12 million country estate in Wiltshire, as well as their £2.5 million pub in west London, the Punchbowl. Together, Ritchie and Madonna had been worth approximately $525 million.

"She's got no interest in remaining here," Ambi Sitham, a British entertainment lawyer, told AP with respect to Madonna relieving herself of all her British property. "She's relocating and moving back to New York. It's money she's already paid out; what is she going to do, try to sell the houses in a flagging market?"

Madonna and Guy Ritchie married in December 2000 in the Scottish Highlands. They announced their separation in October and received a preliminary divorce on November 21; the divorce becomes final in January.

Madonna is currently in Brazil finishing off her Sticky & Sweet Tour, promoting her recent album Hard Candy. Ritchie, best known for the cult crime flick Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, is in production on his new movie Sherlock Holmes, which stars Robert Downey Jr.

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• Navigating the Law: The art of the deal

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