"Who did what to whom is far less important in celebrity divorces than who gives what to whom," Forbes says.

Retired National Basketball Association star Michael Jordan has still to finalise his divorce from Juanita Vanoy Jordan, the bank employee he married in 1989 at the peak of his career.

Forbes estimates that the final settlement will exceed $150m - less than half of his $350m earnings accrued during the marriage - making it the most expensive divorce ever.

Current record-holder Neil Diamond had to pay $150m to his wife of 25 years, Marcia Murphey, after their divorce in 1994.

She was "worth every penny", Forbes magazine quoted the singer as saying.

Third was film director Steven Spielberg who split from his first wife Amy Irving in 1989, after four years of marriage, costing him $100m, Forbes estimates.

The list is populated exclusively by superstar men who settled with their ex-wives - a reflection of the historic dominance men have played in the entertainment industry, Forbes says.

But it goes on to say that expensive as the divorces are, the husbands can certainly afford them.