Woman goes through US$ 1 Billion..

How the hell do you spend a billion dollars ?

A British woman who won a reported $1 billion in one of the biggest divorce settlements in history has filed for bankruptcy in the US.

Patricia Kluge, a 62-year-old socialite, winemaker and one-time adult film actress, reported debts with her third husband of about £30 million, despite selling her 300-acre estate in Virginia.

She admitted defeat after a £10 million fire-sale last year of paintings, Roman statues, Qing dynasty antiques, a Chippendale commode, a four-poster bed from Hedingham Castle and a George III crystal chandelier.

Liquidating jewellery including 64 carats worth of diamonds, platinum and diamond earrings, and a sapphire-and-diamond Cartier watch, also failed to keep her afloat.

Asked last night where all her money had gone, Miss Kluge would only say: "That's a very long story". Her husband, Bill Moses, has said: "We spent too much, too fast."

"It's not the moment to talk about 'what ifs'," Miss Kluge told The Daily Telegraph, "or for what we coulda, shoulda, woulda".

When she divorced in 1990, Miss Kluge won an estimated $1 billion comprising cash and their mansion, Albemarle House, together with its grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Her mansion, once listed for £62 million, was sold for just £9.3 million. They now live in a more modest house nearby. "It's not so small, but it's much smaller than Albemarle," said Miss Kluge.

"We're very happy," she said. "It's life. We're not the first to go through it. Through all this tragedy we see a lot of positive things. I'm a Brit - you cut one arm off and I'll grow another".

Telegraph