Russell Crowe's wife to pocket $25m

Los Angeles - Russell Crowe's estranged wife is reportedly set for a payout of at least $25m.

The Gladiator actor announced his shock split from Danielle Spencer after nine years of marriage at the weekend, and she is set for a sizeable payout due to their Prenupital agreement.

According the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, the couple's property interests alone are worth $50m, including a $14m penthouse in Sydney and farmland in New South Wales.

The paper estimates Russell has made some $150m in acting fees since he and Danielle first met 22 years ago, and he also has a number of other business interests in Sydney, including a share in Rabbitohs football club, a gym and a company which supplies restaurants with beef.

Although the exact details of the couple's prenuptial agreement are unknown, it is thought it states Danielle would be in line for at least $15m after they had been married for three years. It also states each of their children - Charles, eight, and Tennyson, six - would have a $4.8m trust fund set up for them.

Reasons for the couple's split have not been given, but it is thought to be amicable. Rumours had circulated Danielle was getting close to her partner on the Australian version of Dancing With the Stars, Damian Whitewood, but she and Russell denied he was more than a friend.

The Oscar-winning star's schedule could also have been a factor, as he has been in Hollywood shooting back-to-back films for some time, starring in six movies scheduled for release in the next year: The Man with the Iron Fists, Les Miserables, Broken City, Man of Steel, Noah and Winter's Tale.