5 Gold diggers of the Rich and Famous

Too many people, the thought of becoming rich and not having to work for it sounds like a dream. Others dream of becoming rich by earning it through long hours at the office or inventing some highly sought after product. Today, we’ll focus on the individuals who made their money at the expense of a wealthy celebrity spouse after a nasty divorce.

An age old tradition, gold digging is a means of becoming rich by earning the love (or lust?) of someone wealthy. Then, after the romance is officiated, often the gold digger (who usually never loved their wealthy spouse in the first place) ups and leaves to take at least half if not more of their fortune. While it’s not an honorable method of becoming rich, it has worked time and time again.

Which celebrity gold diggers have been the most successful in terms of gaining both fame and fortune? We’re listing the top ten who fought legal battles and ignored their pride for the sake of money. Who made the list and who didn’t? Here’s the 10 biggest celebrity gold diggers.

Amy Irving (Steven Spielberg)

Amy Irving earned a fair bit of fame during the 1970’s with her Academy Award nominated role in “Yentl” as well as a few other big roles afterward. Her fame grew while she was coincidentally dating Steven Spielberg. Spielberg wasn’t quite the name he is now, and Irving, for some reason or another, had a fling with Willie Nelson just before Spielberg hit it big.As Irving’s stock fell and Spielberg’s began to rise during their separation, she became desperate. Irving was in line to get the role of Marion in the huge blockbuster, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, but Spielberg threw her aside after the split. Although the two eventually got back together, Irving made $100 million when they divorced. Spielberg thought he had a pre-nup, but the fact that it was on a napkin voided its validity. Whoops.

Anna Nicole Smith (J. Howard Marshall)

The life of Anna Nicole Smith was a rollercoaster ride that met a tragic ending. When Smith was only 24 years old, she was an unknown stripper. J. Howard Marshall, on the other hand, was a billionaire in the oil industry, and when the two met, she knew she had it good. The only thing about Marshall was that he was darn near 90 years old at the time.

It was pretty obvious to Marshall’s family what Smith’s intentions were; he passed away just a year after the two married. After a long legal battle, Smith won a portion of the money, but not the $800 million that she thought. Smith went on to be an actress, model and weight loss supplement spokesperson before passing away at the age of 39 from a drug overdose.

Courtney Stodden (Doug Hutchinson)

A lot of 16 year olds dream of marrying to their high school sweetheart, but Courtney Stodden took a different approach to that dream, which probably should have been declared illegal in court. Stodden’s family happily signed off on their 16 year old’s marriage to a 51 year old millionaire, Doug Hutchinson, knowing that it would benefit their wallets, as well.

The two seemed like an odd pair from the beginning, since Hutchinson was old enough to be Stodden’s grandfather. Stodden rode the coattails of wealth to her 15 minutes of fame and has appeared on reality shows. The two split as a married couple, but Hutchinson is currently acting as Stodden’s agent, which hints at a pleasant breakup with positive ties. Legally, we think the two should be 500 yards apart at all times.

Kevin Federline (Britney Spears)

When you’re a backup dancer trying to make a name for yourself, the easiest way is to court the star you’re dancing behind. That’s exactly what Kevin Federline did when he hooked up with Britney Spears, despite having a child and one more on the way with his then girlfriend, Shar Jackson. Shar didn’t have anywhere near as much money as Spears, so we guess the choice was fairly easy for him.

Federline used his new fame in the relationship to start a rap career, starting with the truly God awful song, “Popozao”. Federline and Britney had two children together, and divorced pretty quickly after the tots were born. Federline, of all people, got full custody of the children and receives nearly a quarter million in child support each year. Even if Federline never got the successful career that he wanted, he’s set for life now thanks to Spears.

Rachel Hunter (Rod Stewart)

When you sign a pre-nup agreement, you usually think that you won’t have to give much, if any, of your money away. At least that’s what both Steven Spielberg and Rod Stewart thought. Unfortunately, as we mentioned before, Spielberg was wrong. And, as you guessed it, Stewart was wrong as well after Rachel Hunter took a big chunk of his wealth. Stewart kind of saw it coming when he married Hunter, as she was just 21 years old then and he was 45.

After having two children together during their marriage, Stewart figured he was safe until the lawyers came knocking. Stewart lost over $65 million in the divorce, which could have been a lot more if not for the pre-nup that he had. Now, Stewart is 70 years old and Hunter is enjoying the single life. Let’s just hope she visits the old man at his retirement home.