The figure was not, however, unprecedented. Such settlements have been rising steadily in recent years. Last year, insurance magnate John Charman was ordered to pay his wife Beverley £48m – Britain's largest public divorce payout. The figure represents 37 per cent of Charman's fortune.
Sir Paul's judgment was made public partly because of pressure from the legal fraternity, which said that in the interests of the family justice system, the details – other than those that adversely affect the couple's daughter – should be revealed.
Their interest lay in the fact that McCartney-Mills is an important precedent for ultra-wealthy couples who divorce after a short marriage and where one side has significant pre-marital assets.