By Alex Greg for MailOnline and Reuters Harold Hamm is an unlikely billionaire: the 13th child of Oklahoma sharecroppers whose identity as a self-made man could just be his downfall in his impending divorce battle. Hamm, the founder and CEO of Continental Resources, is the world's 34th-richest person in the world, with a personal fortune of an estimated $20.3 billion. The oilman is in the second week of a divorce hearing from his wife of 25 years, Sue Ann, and experts say the only way he can avoid paying half of his assets - and possibly losing a controlling share of his company - is to argue that his fortune is the result of sheer dumb luck.
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Harold Hamm and his wife Sue Ann are divorcing after 25 years of marriage
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Hamm is founder and CEO of Continental Resources and has amassed a $20 billion fortune
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Experts say the only way he can avoid handing over half and possibly losing a controlling stake in his company is to argue he acquired it through luck
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If Hamm can prove that the appreciation of his assets was passive rather than active, they will remain his
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Hamm has always painted himself as an entrepreneur and self-made man
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Sue Ann is a lawyer and worked at Continental Resources before she and Hamm were married
Oil baron: Harold Hamm, @placeholder oil man and 68 per cent stake holder in Continental Resources Inc., stands to lose up to $8.5 billion in his divorce settlement