Mel Gibson loses half his $850m

Los Angeles - Mel Gibson's ex-wife has been awarded half his $850m fortune in their divorce settlement.

The Braveheart actor is now officially a single man after his almost 30-year marriage to Robyn Moore - mother of seven of his children - was officially ended at a Los Angeles court on Friday.

The huge payout is thought to be one of the biggest divorce settlements in Hollywood history.

Because the couple didn't have a prenuptial agreement, Robyn, 55, was legally entitled to half of everything he earned during their marriage and she is also entitled to 50% of Mel's future film earnings.

Robyn - who has two Malibu homes worth an estimated $22.5m - filed for a legal separation in April 2009 citing "irreconcilable differences" as a reason for ending their marriage.

Earlier this month, Mel won praise from Judge Stephanie Sautner, who is overseeing his battery case against former girlfriend Oksana Grigoreiva, after he completed double the amount of anger management and domestic violence counselling he was required to undertake.

The 55-year-old star has pleaded no contest to misdemeanour battery against his ex-girlfriend - who he has two-year-old daughter Lucia with - and is currently on informal probation.

In March, Mel was sentenced to a year-long domestic violence counselling programme over the incident, which occurred in January 2010, and he was also served with a protective order not to "threaten or harass anyone involved in the case".