Hans Rausing, one of Britain's richest men, avoided a jail sentence on Wednesday after he admitted preventing the lawful and decent burial of his wife Eva's body.
Rausing, who also admitted driving a vehicle while unfit through drugs, was given two suspended sentences for the offences after Judge Richard McGregor-Johnson told him his behaviour was "an illustration of the utterly destructive effects of drug misuse".
Rausing was given a 10-month prison sentence suspended for two years for preventing the lawful and decent burial of his wife.
Rausing's lawyer said his client was overwhelmingly traumatised by his wife's death
Police discovered the body of mother-of-four Mrs Rausing in an advanced state of decomposition after they arrested her husband - heir to the Tetra Pak millions - on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs on 9 July.
Mrs Rausing, 48, one of Britain's richest women, was found beside a bed in an annexe on the second floor of the opulent house in Cadogan Place in Chelsea, which she shared with her 49-year-old husband.
A post-mortem examination established that she died on 7 May and had drugs in her system, including cocaine, Isleworth Crown Court, in west London, heard.
Mrs Rausing's pacemaker and the toxicology report, suggests that she died of heart failure coupled with the effects of drugs.
The Rausings in 1996, before their troubles with drug abuse
Her decomposing body was found in a fly-filled room in their luxury London home hidden under a pile of clothing and bin bags which had been taped together.
Judge McGregor-Johnson said: "If ever there was an illustration of the utterly destructive effects of drug misuse on individuals and their families, it is to be found in the facts of this case.
"You and your wife had every material advantage imaginable, and for a time a happy family life.
"Your relapse into the misuse of drugs, together with that of your wife, destroyed all that."
Judge McGregor-Johnson added that the effects of drugs had been "graphically illustrated" by the contrast between the rooms shown to visitors in the Rausing's house in Cadogan Place, and the "utter squalor" of the rooms they really lived in.
He said he accepted that the medical evidence, including that of the examination of Mrs Rausing's pacemaker and the toxicology report, suggests that she died of heart failure coupled with the effects of drugs.
Eva and Hans Rausing on their wedding day
Mr Cameron told the court that a psychiatrist's report described Rausing's reaction to his wife's death as one of "overwhelming emotional trauma".
Rausing is said to have told the psychiatrist: "I know it is selfish but I just didn't want her to leave."
Prosecutor James O'Connell told the court that drug paraphernalia was found in Rausing's car when he was stopped and a search of the vehicle revealed a "substantial" amount of post addressed to his wife.
When asked where Mrs Rausing was, Rausing told officers she had been in the US for the past two weeks, Mr O'Connell said.
Mrs Rausing had returned to the UK on April 29 and she met her financial adviser on May 3, the last time she was seen by witnesses.
The court was told that a toxicology report revealed traces of cocaine, opiates, and amphetamimes in Mrs Rausing's body.
Rausing will not face any further charges in relation to the incident.
He was also disqualified from driving for two years, his licence was endorsed and he was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1,000.