UK hedge fund divorce ruling reveals Hohn charity split row
By Kirstin Ridley and Simon Jessop LONDON (Reuters) - The acrimonious divorce of Britain's most generous philanthropists, hedge fund billionaire Christopher Hohn and his estranged wife Jamie Cooper-Hohn, could lead to a split of one of the largest private charities in the world. A $530 million divorce settlement awarded to Cooper-Hohn, announced last month, is the largest in reported British legal history. But details of the settlement have only now been published, in a partly redacted judgment that divides available assets put on Friday at around $1.5 billion (£954.61 million). Judge Jennifer Roberts partly acknowledged Hohn's argument that his ability to create vast wealth had made a special contribution to their 17-year marriage, during which they had four children, and made an award to American-born Cooper-Hohn which equates to 36 percent of the fortune. Cooper-Hohn, 49, had sought half of the assets. Their break-up has cast a cloud over the charity they co-founded in 2004, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), which has donated hundreds of millions of pounds to helping poor and vulnerable children in the developing world. Roberts said there had "clearly been tensions" at CIFF, which has grown into a $4.5 billion foundation funding causes such as child survival, nutrition, education and climate change, because of the divorce and financial proceedings. She said the charity's board of trustees had been due to decide last month whether to proceed with a proposal to grant a chunk of its funds to its sister U.S. organisation, or another charitable entity, effectively controlled by Jamie. "I am aware ... that there have been discussions about the possibility of diverting funds from the UK Foundation into the U.S. Foundation (or another charitable entity) which might be designated as a separate charity which the wife might represent," she wrote in her judgment. "I am similarly aware that such a 'split' is not supported by the husband because of the potential conflict which he sees with the best interests of the UK Foundation." A spokesman for CIFF was not immediately available for comment. Lawyers said the judge's decision to award Cooper-Hohn, who was CIFF's chief executive for almost 10 years before becoming chairwoman, less than 50 percent of available assets dealt a blow to London's reputation as the divorce capital of Europe. "Some people will see this as unfairly relegating support contributions at home to second class," said Jane Keir, a partner at law firm Kingsley Napley. "Batten down the hatches for legal argument over whether a widget entrepreneur's fortune, an astute company buy-out or a fast hedge-fund hundred million are 'exceptional' contributions or not." A spokeswoman for Cooper-Hohn, who can appeal the ruling, said: "We are reviewing the judgment with interest." (Editing by David Holmes)
