Maya Polsky Woman awarded $184M in divorce

polsky, michael polsky, invenergy, skygen energy, invenergy wind


Decision could be biggest award to a homemaker wife in U.S. history.


CHICAGO -- Decades after she and her husband arrived in the United States with just $500 in their pockets, a woman was awarded $184 million Monday in what could be one of the richest divorce verdicts in U.S. history.

At the center of the legal dispute is energy magnate Michael Polsky, 57, chief executive of Chicago-based Invenergy LLC. Standing on the other side of the courtroom was Maya Polsky, 55, a homemaker and art gallery owner who provided "love, support, advice and counsel" after the couple's 1975 marriage in the Soviet Union, according to court documents.

A Cook County judge ruled in October that Maya Polsky was entitled to half of the Chicago couple's cash and assets, with her share valued at $176 million. On Monday, Judge William Boyd amended his decision to include previously omitted assets which increased the value of her award to $184 million.

Maya Polsky's attorney, Howard Rosenfeld, said more than $170 million of the award is nontaxable cash.