Yesterday, a Californian court ordered John Cleese to pay £77,500 a month in temporary maintenance payments to his estranged wife, even though he claims that he earns £55,500 per month.
The 68-year-comedian is in the process of battling it out over his fortune, after he separated from his third wife four months ago.
Before the separation, he had been married to Alice Faye Eichelberger, an American-born psychotherapist, for 15 years.
After leaving the Santa Barbara Superior Court in California, Cleese said: "It's going to be very, very expensive - but it will be worth every penny".
At court Miss Eichelberger's lawyer, Jacqueline Misho, stated that his wife had "nothing, zero, because Mr Cleese has not seen fit to pay any support up to this point".
But Cleese was said to be astonished at this claim and told the court that Miss Eichelberger had been living in a luxurious New York hotel since the separation.
He said: "When Ms Misho said my wife has absolutely no money, it puzzled me how she could be staying at the Carlyle Hotel in a room that costs $1,185 (£600) a night."
At court Cleese argued that his wife's demands were excessive as they were based on his income last year when he earned an "unusually high" amount. In 2007 he received a profit participation bonus from the movie Shrek 3 and £750,000 from a property deal.
He claims that his average monthly earnings this year are £55,500, but lawyers representing his 63-year-old wife said that he was earning around £93,000 per month. The court calculated that the comedian had earned more than £10.5 million in the past six years.
Lawyers representing his wife claim that the couple own property worth £16million. Miss Eichelberger, who didn’t attend court, said that she had no income for herself, as she hadn't worked for years.
Cleese is presently selling his ranch in Santa Barbara, which costs £25,000 per month to run, to pay for the divorce. He has received an offer of £8.25 million.
Cleese's wife is claiming for two houses, half of Cleese's earnings since 1992, plus maintenance of £900,000 a year, as her divorce settlement.
She is reportedly demanding such a settlement because Cleese is a "world renowned celebrity" and that she wished to continue to live in the style she had been accustomed to as a married woman.
Cleese’s other wives
His first marriage was to American actress Connie Booth, who was his co-writer and co-star in Fawlty Towers. They were married for ten years and have a daughter named Cynthia.
He then married Barbara Trentham, an American TV director and painter, in 1981. They were married for nine years.
Hollywood's costly celebrity divorces
- Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving: The couple divorced after four years of marriage. Irving successfully contested their prenuptial agreement because she didn't have legal representation and she received $100 million, roughly half of Spielberg's fortune at the time. He is now worth $3 billion.
- Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison: The settlement awarded to Mathison was estimated at $85 million. She also negotiated a piece of Ford's future earnings from films he made while they were married, including DVD sales of The Fugitive and the Indiana Jones trilogy. They were married for 21 years.
- Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva: After 16 years of marriage Silva was awarded $80 million because she was married to him during his peak earning years.
- Paul McCartney and Heather Mills: The couple, who have a daughter together, split after four years of marriage. Mills received £23.4 million of McCartney's £400 million fortune.
- James Cameron and Linda Hamilton: Cameron received an estimated $100 million from Paramount for Titanic and Hamilton received half of that in the divorce settlement. They have one daughter together.
- Michael and Diandra Douglas: Diandra was awarded $45 million, as well as homes in Beverly Hills and Majorca. They were married for 22 years.
- Lionel and Diane Richie: After eight years of marriage Diane filed for divorce in 2004. As part of her petition she claimed a monthly clothing allowance of $15,000 and a plastic surgery budget of $20,000 a year. She received an estimated settlement of $20 million.
- Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall: Despite being together for 22 years and having two children together, Jerry only obtained a fraction of his $325 million fortune when she received between $15 and $25 million.
Further information
How to protect yourself financially on divorce
10 tips on how to avoid a messy divorce
10 things you need to do after a divorce
Thousands copy Mills and do their own 'DIY divorce'
What are the grounds for divorce?
Do I need a solicitor?
Save legal fees by using Lawpack's Separation & Divorce Kit