Du Shuanghua and Song Yahong   鋼鐵大王杜雙華+宋雅紅

Settlement pending: Possibly 25 billion yuan (US$4 billion)

This is a weird but sensational divorce suit. Song Yahong, wife of China's steel tycoon Du Shuanghua, was beyond surprised when she filed a divorce suit in Beijing in Sept. 2011. She was told that she "had been divorced" from her husband at the local court of Hengshui City, Hebei Province 11 years ago. Song claimed that she was unaware of the alleged divorce, and demanded that she should be awarded half of the nearly 50 billion yuan (US$7.9 billion) company assets held by 47-year-old Du, president of Rizhao Iron and Steel. This suit has been dubbed the most expensive divorce in China. Some said that Du is lucky as he founded Rizhao in 2003, two years after his alleged divorce, making it hard for Song to grab any fraction. The case was heard again in August 2012 in Hengshui, but Du didn't show up personally. If the court finds the 2001 verdict invalid, Song will probably land a chance to become the richest Chinese woman. So far nobody knows the projected outcome.