During a divorce, a couple typically goes through the painstaking process of equally dividing their marital assets: house, vehicle, jewelry, and even pets. The divorce process can drag on for months or even years and can be very expensive. Selling your ceramic fish statue and rainbow-colored punchbowl may not fetch a hefty sum, but you could recoup your divorce spendings by auctioning these off alongside other conjugal properties.
Here are celebrity divorce auctions that prove that with a little imagination and lots of marketable valuables, separating from your spouse can mean money in the bank.
Russell Crowe’s underthings and other movie props
It would appear that when Russell Crowe and Danielle Spencer’s divorce was finalized, Danielle ended up being the ‘winner’ for reportedly obtaining ownership of their $11 million mansion and walking away with $20 million in the bank.
But don’t cry for Russell. He’s doing just fine, thanks to his costumes and props from movies he starred in. To celebrate the finalization of his divorce, he sold a bunch of movie paraphernalia and other remnants of his married life in a Sotheby’s auction called “The Art of Divorce.”
Because Russell chose his film roles well, buyers scooped up things like a breastplate, a replica Roman chariot, and a wooden sword from Gladiator; the violin from Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; and the jockstrap he wore from Cinderella Man.
He took home $3.7 million from the sale, and that’s not even including the nondescript suit he wore as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in The Mummy.
Johnny Depp’s Basquiat pieces fund divorce
Johnny Depp’s 15-month marriage to Amber Heard won’t make it in a ‘Hollywood’s Shortest Celebrity Marriages’ list, but it nevertheless seemed to have lasted for all of 15 minutes. We don’t mean to be cynical, but whirlwind romances like theirs usually end up in a bitter courtroom battle over who gets what.
Johnny is a known collector of fine things -- he owns Jack Kerouac memorabilia worth over $50,000, a chateau on the French Riviera, a couple islands, and eight Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings, which he sold via auction at Christie’s in London where at least two paintings sold for a combined $11.5 million.
He collected the Basquiats for over 25 years, so it could be that he no longer fancies them... but it could also be due to the fact that he and Amber didn’t have a prenuptial agreement, and he was allegedly facing a financial crisis at the time of divorce.
In case a sequel to Mortdecai doesn’t do well at the box office, he still has his band to fall back on.
Honorable Mention: Paris Hilton’s breakup bling
Paris Hilton once said that in order to be treated like a princess, it’s necessary to dress up like one. And wouldn’t you know, the always-bedazzled hotel heiress/’00s fashionista and philosopher does occasionally act like a princess.
In 2005, Paris was known for many things: partying, and inventing a career template that the Kardashians would emulate years later. She was then engaged to Greek billionaire Paris Latsis who proposed to her with a 24-carat ring, allegedly worth around $4.7 million. At the time, it was considered one of the most expensive rings ever worn by a celeb.
Unfortunately, the engagement didn’t last long. When she and her fiancé broke off the engagement, she auctioned off the ring for half the price and donated the proceeds to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Paris and Paris technically did not get a divorce. In fact, Paris has never been divorced and that’s apparently because no man has yet proven worthy of her.
Divorce can be a messy, harrowing, and expensive process with two parties often out for blood. That’s why we couldn’t blame these celebs for trying to make a quick buck while they were at it. You can even learn a thing or two about what to do with unwanted assets from your dissolved marriage. As your divorce lawyer, Buckingham, LaGrandeur & Williams will ensure that what you do in the courtroom echoes beautifully in eternity, to paraphrase Maximus from Gladiator.