West Palm Beach, Fla. — A judge says former America's Cup skipper Bill Koch must pay more than $16 million to end his four-year long marriage, a union blemished by allegations of spousal abuse.
Circuit Judge John Phillips granted a divorce to Bill and Angela Koch of Palm Beach on Thursday, ordering Koch to make a $16 million lump sum payment to his wife in lieu of alimony.
Koch, 60, must also make monthly child support payments of $10,900 for each of the couple's two children ages 3 years and 15 months and has agreed to pay for their college.
The children will live with their mother during the school year, but their parents will have shared custody.
The settlement superseded a prenuptial agreement between the couple, which said Angela Koch, 43, would receive 1 percent of her husband's net worth, said Mark Luttier, Koch's attorney.
Forbes magazine estimated Koch's net worth this year was $650 million, and he spent $70 million on the yacht he captained to victory in the 1992 America's Cup. His family owns an oil and energy business based in Wichita, Kan.
"Mrs. Koch is pleased with the settlement," said her lawyer, Jeff Fisher, adding that his client will move out of the couple's mansion, which will remain under Koch's name.
The couple separated in July after police were called to the couple's estate in Cape Cod, Mass. Koch was charged with domestic violence after his wife claimed he punched her in the stomach. She later refused to testify, and the district attorney dropped the charges. Koch denies the incident.
This was the second marriage for both Kochs.
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