“What a lucky divorce” Shaquille O’Neal could’ve paid $200 Million to ex-Shaunie if divorce took place in California
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Shaunie O'Neal and Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O’Neal moved to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996 from the Orlando Magic. The NBA icon there met Shaunie O’Neal, his then-girlfriend, and the two got married in 2002 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in a small ceremony. Shaq and Shaunie split up in 2011, after allegations of infidelity tore the couple apart and resulted in a dramatic divorce for the NBA star. Later it was revealed that if Shaq had divorced Shaunie outside of Florida, he may have lost a lot more money than he did.
Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie O’Neal were married for 11 years and had four children together until Shaq filed for divorce in 2007. He eventually withdrew this the next year, but the two later started the divorce process again, and it was finally finalized in 2011. The former Los Angeles Lakers great remarked how important his family’s support was to his basketball career. However, he admitted that he felt “lost” after he and Shaunie split up in 2009.
Shaquille O’Neal and his ill-fated personal life
Before he had received an MVP award or won his first NBA title, Shaquille O’Neal had already established himself as one of the best players in NBA history. A fourth-year Shaq was so dominating that he had to be listed among the NBA’s Top 50 Players of All-Time list stacked with legendary players. In 2022, he was also included to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. O’Neal is thought to be worth $400 million as h e is now retired, and his income outside of basketball is more than his income on the floor. The 7-foot-1 monster made $292 million in salaries over the course of his 19 NBA seasons.
Shaq continues to earn $60 million a year from investments and endorsement deals. The 50-year-old is a representative for many businesses, including American General Insurance, Papa John’s Pizza, Gold Bond, and Icy Hot. 155 Five Guys Burgers restaurants, 17 Auntie Anne’s Pretzels restaurants, 150 car washes, 40 24-hour fitness facilities, a shopping complex, a movie theatre, and many Las Vegas nightclubs are all jointly owned by him in addition to his work as a product promoter. Despite having access to these conveniences, he was a bad husband.
When high-profile athletes divorce, it frequently means that their partner loses half of their money to their ex-spouse. Shaquille O’Neal had a signed contract, which meant that the majority of his assets were protected. The agreement was legit in the state of Florida, but there was a chance that it might not have been. The NBA Hall of Famer disclosed that he and his ex-wife reached a high-priced private settlement. He still makes support payments of $10,000 per month and extra payments of $10,000 per month for each of his four kids.
Shaunie and their children were residing in California at the time, therefore Shaq would be required by law to give his ex-wife half of his possessions. However, his $400 million net worth wasn’t equally divided because the divorce processes started in Florida because he was playing for the Miami Heat at the time. Half of Shaq’s enormous fortune would have gone to his wife if the California courts had presided over the divorce procedures.
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Irvin Philip
(701 Articles Published)