The first husband of Heather Mills McCartney says she does not deserve Paul McCartney's.

Businessman Alfie Karmal, whose 20-month marriage to Mills McCartney ended in 1991, said the separation of the 38-year-old former model and her megastar husband had not come as a surprise to him.

But he told London's Evening Standard: "I don't think anybody deserves to lose hundreds of millions of pounds."

"Somebody who has made a significant amount of money from his own talents should not have to pay out huge sums just because a couple were once married."

Paul McCartney, 64, is richer than the Prince of Wales, with an estimated personal fortune of 825 million pounds ($2.05 billion), according to several British newspapers.

After four years of marriage, his estranged wife is reported to be asking for almost a quarter of that fortune - 200 million pounds ($495.79 million) - for herself and the couple's two-year-old daughter Beatrice.

Reports suggest the star is "only" offering 30 pounds million ($74.37 million).

AFP