London ? Money may not buy her love, but Paul McCartney’s ex sure has a lot more of it now.

One of Britain’s bitterest divorces reached a settlement Monday when Heather Mills was awarded $48.6 million – an enormous sum, but a fraction of what she sought and a sliver of the former Beatle’s $800 million fortune.

Mills declared herself “very, very, very pleased” with a payout that amounted to about $34,000 for each day of her four-year marriage. But some legal experts were surprised the former model, who has been widely portrayed in the British media as a gold-digger, did not get more.

“In the scheme of things, it’s quite surprisingly low,” said Patricia Hollings, a divorce specialist with London law firm Finers Stephens Innocent. “It is only offering her about 6 percent of his assets. In terms of high-wealth cases it’s very low.”

A Family Court judge awarded Mills a lump sum of $33 million, plus the assets she now holds, worth $15.6 million. Mills had sought almost $250 million, according to a summary of the ruling; McCartney had offered $31.6 million, including Mills’ own assets.

The settlement was at the low end of many experts’ estimates, which varied between $50 million and $100 million. The brevity of the marriage, and the fact most of the former Beatle’s fortune was made before he met Mills were factors considered by the judge.

Mills, 40, raised eyebrows by firing her legal team late last year and representing herself in court, but legal experts said that was unlikely to have been a factor in the award.

McCartney, 65, left after the ruling without saying a word. But Mills emerged from the three-hour private hearing for an impromptu news conference on the courthouse steps – railing against McCartney’s lawyer, accusing her ex of underestimating his wealth and declaring the settlement had secured her future and that of her 4-year-old daughter, Beatrice.

“All of you that have researched know that it was always going to be a figure between 20 and 30 million” pounds, said a visibly agitated Mills. “Paul was offering a lot less than that … So we’re very, very, very pleased.”

McCartney also was ordered to pay $70,000 a year for his daughter, and to pay for the child’s nanny and school fees. Mills said that was a paltry amount. “She’s obviously meant to travel B class while her father travels A class,” she said.