History could be made at the Royal Courts of Justice next month.
I hear the ex-wife of a Russian billionaire is demanding £150million for a new home and a staggering £441million maintenance fund in what would be Britain’s biggest divorce settlement.
Natalia Potanina is seeking a total of £603million to cover her housing and living expenses as she pursues a multi-billion-pound claim against mining tycoon Vladimir Potanin.
Natalia’s extraordinary demands have been disclosed in a new court judgment ahead of a 15-day trial in London in November.
The former couple, who met as teenagers and were married for 30 years, have been locked in a bitter legal battle since divorcing in Russia in 2014.
Potanin, 65, made his fortune following the collapse of the Soviet Union and controls a vast business empire which includes a major stake in mining giant Norilsk Nickel. One of Russia’s richest men, Forbes estimates his fortune at £22billion.
Natalia Potanina is seeking a total of £603million to cover her housing and living expenses as she pursues a multi-billion-pound claim against mining tycoon Vladimir Potanin
The former couple have been locked in a bitter legal battle since divorcing in Russia in 2014. Natalia is seen outside the High Court in London in 2019
The figures were disclosed by Potanin’s lawyers, who argued that the demands were ‘totally out of proportion to any level of need under Russian law’. But the extraordinary lifestyle claim is only part of a much larger battle over her former husband’s immense fortune.
The pair have three children together, and Natalia has maintained that the breakdown of their marriage came as a devastating shock after her husband began another relationship.
The Russian courts awarded her half the value of assets held directly by her former husband, but excluded much of his vast wealth held through companies and trusts.
The previous record for a settlement was the £554million that Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, the half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah, was awarded against Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2021.
Author Nick Hornby, whose best-sellers include About A Boy and High Fidelity, struggles to overcome the distractions of the internet. His solution?
‘I have a jigsaw on the go,’ he says. ‘They don’t take me out of the mental space in the same way that YouTube does or reading something online.’
Sophie blasts health pills
BBC star Sophie Raworth has a news bulletin of her own. The News at Ten presenter claims that much-hyped ‘wellness’ products are a waste of money.
‘There’s no point taking collagen – there’s no scientific evidence,’ says marathon runner Sophie.
Endorsed by stars including Jennifer Aniston and Kim Kardashian, collagen has been hailed as a cure for all manner of ailments. Speaking at Wimbledon BookFest in London, Sophie adds: ‘There’s no point in taking vitamins. The wellness industry is making huge amounts of money off people. Wellness takes a lot more effort than a pill.’
BBC star Sophie Raworth has a news bulletin of her own. The News at Ten presenter claims that much-hyped ‘wellness’ products are a waste of money
His start-up company was snapped up in a £4.7billion deal last year – the latest triumph in the stellar career of iPad designer Sir Jony Ive.
But the 59-year-old is still struggling to master the Cotswolds – in particular the manor house for which he paid £17million in 2023.
Two years after I disclosed that his plans for the Grade I-listed pile had been buried under a blizzard of local derision, he has received a dressing-down from Historic England.
His proposal to raise the manor’s boundary walls would, it says, ‘block the tantalising views into the landscaped drive and gardens that contribute to [its] setting and the character of the conservation area’.
As for installing new entrance pillars, it would mean ‘losing the historic fabric within the [manor’s] setting’.
Back to the drawing board...
Meghan's a menace, growls Tory grandee
Tory grandee David Davis is unlikely to be among those who watched the Prince of Wales on The Graham Norton Show last night.
‘The monarchy should be a silent institution,’ the MP tells me at the launch party for Blades, a compelling book by the Mail’s Defence Editor Mark Nicol, at the Tower of London.
Davis points to how Queen Elizabeth maintained respect by avoiding sharing her views in public. Referring to King Charles and Princes William and Harry, he says: ‘Their father wasn’t silent, and his sons are following his example.’ Asked if he’s pleased Harry has returned from the US, Davis says: ‘No. His wife’s a menace.’
Duran Duran star John Taylor may have swapped the Hollywood Hills for rural Wiltshire, but he’s not ready to give up all his Californian creature comforts.
I hear the bassist, 66, is planning to create a state-of-the-art private gym at South Wraxall Manor, the 15th-century Grade I-listed home he shares with his wife, Juicy Couture co-founder Gela Nash-Taylor, 72.
Planning documents reveal that historic outbuildings would be transformed into what is described as a ‘home gymnasium suite’.
Thrones star takes a hit on house sale
She made her name as noblewoman Sansa Stark in sex-and-dragons drama Game Of Thrones, but Sophie Turner is a loser in the game of homes.
British actress Sophie Turner has put her four-bedroom house in London’s Little Venice on the market for £1.99million, £600,000 less than she paid for it in 2017
I hear that the actress, 30, has put her four-bedroom house in London’s Little Venice on the market for £1.99million, £600,000 less than she paid for it in 2017.
She and American pop star Joe Jonas, who have two children, divorced in 2024.
This summer she sparked rumours that she had rekindled her romance with Viscount Cowdray’s son and heir, Peregrine Pearson, when the pair were spotted on holiday together.