London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Mansions, Race Horses, And Limitless Money: The Lavish Lifestyle Behind Dubai Royals' Record Divorce Settlement

Mansions, Race Horses, And Limitless Money: The Lavish Lifestyle Behind Dubai Royals' Record Divorce Settlement

The ruler of Dubai was today ordered by the High Court in London to pay his former wife around 550 million pounds as divorce settlement.

The legal battle between Dubai's ruler and his ex-wife has brought to forefront the lavish lifestyle of the the ultra-rich Middle Eastern royalty.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, was today ordered by the High Court in London to pay his former wife, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, around 550 million pounds ($730 million) - reportedly the highest divorce settlement set by an English court.

The settlement amount will go towards the upkeep of Princess Haya's British mansions and to cover the future security costs of her and their children.

Here are the details of the royal couple's lifestyle that was listed in the ruling:

'Limitless' money in Dubai


Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who is currently the vice-president and prime minister of UAE, got married to Princess Haya in 2004. The judgment states that she divorced her in 2019 under the Sharia law without her knowledge.

The Princess' lawyers told the court that when in Dubai, she and the children had access to 'limitless' money.

Princess Haya had access to over a dozen luxurious mansions, a 400 million pounds yacht, and a fleet of private planes, her lawyers told the court.

According to the ruling, she used to get 83 million pounds annually for her household, along with 9 million pounds spending money.

Blackmail using children's money


The 72-year-old ruler of the emirate of Dubai has long been locked in a bitter legal battle with his 47-year-old former wife, who lives in London with their two children, aged 13 and nine.

During one of the hearings, Princess Haya was questioned about a 6.7 million pounds payment she made to cover up her affair with one of the bodyguards. To make the payment, she used money from the children's bank accounts.

"I was very frightened," Haya said when asked why she had used money from the children's accounts to pay them off. "I was scared and that was the money that was available in that amount."

Mansions in London


Of the total divorce settlement, 251.5 million pounds would go towards the upkeep of Princess Haya's houses in London.

In 2016, Princess Haya bought a mansion near Kensington Palace for 87.5 million pounds and then spent 14.7 million pounds in getting it refurbished, the court was told.

The Dubai ruler has been ordered to make payments that would cover a 10-year refurbishment project of the house and also cover the salaries of five housekeepers.

"We always kept it to a very high standard and that is the amount of people needed to keep it as it is now," Princess Haya said.

She has also sought a yearly payment of 770,000 pounds for the maintenance of her Castlewood mansion in Berkshire.

400 racehorses


Princess Haya said that she and their children owned over 60 racehorses, for whom she sought 75 million pounds in compensation. While being married to the Sheikh, she bought nearly 400 racehorses.

"If I wanted a horse, I bought one," Princess Haya told the court.

Holidays and leisure


During her marriage, the family spent 631,000 pounds on one summer vacation in Italy, and on another occasion the bill for a hotel in Greece was 274,000 euros, the court said in its ruling.

Princess Haya would get money for two weeks of vacation in Britain and to travel abroad nine weeks every year.

Judge Philip Moor said that the annual award for holidays would be 5.1 million pounds a year, with 1 million pounds each for hiring private plane and food expenditure.

The court awarded Princess Haya a further 1 million pounds to spend on leisure. He also granted 277,050 pounds a year for spending on pets, including 25,000 pounds to buy horses and 12,000 pounds for toys, grooming, and training of unspecified animals.

Clothes and jewellery


Princess Haya in her testimony said that her ex-husband used to regularly spoil her with lavish gifts during their marriage, and was awarded 13.7 million pounds as compensation for what she claimed were missing jewellery and clothes. She had initially sought 52 million pounds for the missing items.

She said her collection of haute couture was worth about 74 million euros, and only the most basic items had been returned to her after she fled to Britain.

"If you put all the pieces in that room spread across this courtroom, it would be full," Haya said. "I was spoiled with wonderful gifts which I enjoyed very, very much at the time."

In a 23-minute video presented during the hearing, the judge could be seen walking into a safe in the Dubai palace where the jewellery was kept. The judge said that what was left in the safe seemed "standard fare".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×