The lawyers have presented their arguments, witnesses have had their say, now all that's left is for the judge's decision on what could end up as the largest divorce judgment in history. The secretive nine-week trial has pitted Oklahoma's richest man, oil magnate and Continental Resources Chief Executive Harold Hamm, against his wife of 26 years, Sue Ann Hamm. The trial ended Thursday.
At stake is billions of dollars of Continental company wealth. The money is mostly tied up in a 68 percent stake in Continental, whose shares are in Harold's name. Expert witnesses for Sue Ann Hamm, a former attorney at Continental, pressed the court to divide as much as $17 billion in wealth that has accrued in Harold's shares of the company since 1988, when she married Harold. Such a multibillion-dollar award could force Harold Hamm to liquidate a significant portion of his Continental shares, eroding his control of one of America's fastest-growing energy companies. Continental is a leading driller in the Bakken oilfield of North Dakota and Montana. Harold's side contends his wife deserves almost none of it.
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-- Reuters and NBC News
