The biotech billionaire, ex-UBS board member and sailor divorces wife Kirsty Bertarelli, a former UK beauty queen.
Media reports indicate that the couple separated by mutual agreement on an amicable basis this past summer. With the divorce settlement, Kirsty Bertarelli, 53, has become one of the wealthiest women in the UK.
The pair has three children and the split comes after 21 years of marriage, according to the «Daily Mail» (Online), citing a spokesperson for the couple.
The Bertarelli's wealth is estimated to be about $12 billion and they ranked 14th on the 2021 Sunday Times «Rich List».
Inheriting Serono
The wealth originally stems from biotech drugmaker Serono, which Ernest inherited from his father after his death in 1998.
He expanded the company and grew its revenues with his sister Dona Bertarelli, after which it was then sold to Germany's Merck in 2007 for more than $13 billion.
Bertarelli was also a UBS board member between 2002 and 2009 and he won the Americas Cup in 2003, defending it in 2007 with the Alinghi team he had founded and which he helped crew.
Generous Settlement
The 53 year old is a former «Miss UK», and is currently a model and pop singer. The newspaper says she has agreed to a roughly $450-5oo million dollar divorce payment, with the settlement including a villa on Lake Geneva and a chalet in Gstaad as well.
According to the newspaper, the settlement will make her the richest British-born divorcees in legal history, with her wealth being on par with that of the Queen's but more than that of pop and rock stars such as Mick Jagger, Ed Sheeran and Adele. Kirsty Bertarelli was represented by lawyer Fiona Shackleton, who previously represented Prince Charles and Paul McCartney in their divorces, the Daily Mail reported.
She is likely to have signed a prenuptial agreement before the marriage in 2000, with one of her friends telling the newspaper that the settlement was a generous one as the couple did not want to have to undergo a lengthy court case in Switzerland and given Ernesto's intent on recognizing the duration of the marriage.
