Lucky or genius? Verdict on billionaire could decide world's most expensive divorce ever

Harold Hamm, the CEO and founder ofContinental Resources, the largest oil driller in the booming Bakken Shale formation has to prove he is extremely dumb and became a billionaire by chance in order to avoid paying very high alimony to his estranged wife in what could become the world’s most expensive divorce.

The divorce trial, scheduled to run nine weeks, will revolve around precisely how Hamm, who owns 68 percent of the company’s shares, amassed a $19 billion fortune during his 26-year marriage to his wife, Sue Ann.

According to a Reuters report, Hamm’s bio in theContinental’s annual 2013 proxy filing to investors which earlier said he is the ‘driving force’ behind the company’s success and the company grew through his ’leadership skills’, was conveniently removed this May, just months before the trial began.

The change came ahead of a legal showdown that could damage his wealth and chip away at his majority control of the company.

Harold Hamm, now 68, founded Continental Resources in 1967, or 21 years before his 1988 marriage to Sue Ann, 58, who was then an attorney at the company. When Hamm divorced his previous wife, in 1987, court filings estimated his wealth at around $16 million. Today, Hamm’s stake in Continental means he owns more oil in the ground than any other American, and the firm is worth $28 billion.

How much wealth Judge Howard Haralson will award each spouse hinges on the value he places on Hamm’s earnings during the marriage.

So while the richest energy mogul in America is claiming that $17 billion (the company’s growth in value) was essentially dumb luck, his wife-who moved out years ago-is claiming that the wealth is the result of her husband’s infinite wisdom, notes a CNBC report.

If the oilman’s lawyers can show Continental’s value grew in large part due to market factors beyond his control, including the rising price of oil, he may be awarded the lion’s share of the wealth.

Divorce-law specialists told Reuters that attorneys for Hamm’s estranged wife could sing the oilman’s praises, arguing that his business acumen and tireless management at Continental helped multiply the family’s riches more than a thousand-fold during the union.

But, if it is proved that the increase in wealth is a result of his efforts during marriage, it could be split evenly with Sue Ann, making her very, very rich.

According to the CNBC report , if Sue Ann, Hamm’s wife, wins this, she would vault past Oprah, and become one of the top 20 wealthiest women in America.

In recent years, Hamm’s Continental stake has surged in value. Since the stock’s May 2007 debut on the New York Stock Exchange, Continental shares are up by more than 1,000 percent.

With inputs from Reuters