A British court on Thursday awarded a £53 million (62 million euro, $69 million) divorce settlement to a former model who had demanded £196 million from her Saudi billionaire husband - including £1 million a year just for clothes. Lawyers for US national Christina Estrada, 54, said the total settlement amounted to £75 million, including the value of her existing assets. She had asked for £196 million from 61-year-old husband Sheikh Walid Juffali but thanked the court after the ruling.
"I am fully aware that the spectacular life Walid and I led was immensely fortunate and rarefied. And I fully understand how this can be perceived in the wider world," she said in a statement. In hearings during which she was cross-examined on her material needs she told the court: "I was a top international model. I have lived this life. This is what I am accustomed to".
She said she needed £60 million for a home in London, £4.4 million for a country house in Henley-on-Thames as well as £495,000 for five cars. Her clothing budget included an annual £40,000 for fur coats, £109,000 for haute couture dresses and £21,000 for shoes. Juffali is terminally ill with cancer and undergoing treatment in Switzerland. He divorced Estrada under Islamic law without her knowledge and married a 25-year-old Lebanese model in 2012.