Mark Zuckerberg Prenup: Billionaire Facebook Founder Weds Priscilla Chan, Was There a Prenup?

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wed his long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan on Saturday in a surprise ceremony even their guests didn’t see coming. However, the happy couple's nuptials have been somewhat overshadowed by one question: Did they get prenuptial agreement?

Zuckerberg was worth $17.5 billion as of March 2012, according to Forbes. That figure could now be closer to $19 billion thanks to his move to take Facebook public on May 19, says Forbes personal finance writer Deborah L. Jacobs.

So what does this all mean for their marriage? California law makes premarital property separate property, so Chan wouldn't automatically be entitled to 50 percent of the Facebook empire in the event of divorce. However, if the company increased in value post-marriage, any gains would be considered community property -- a term that refers to everything a couple acquires during the course of the marriage -- and she could be entitled to 50 percent of the profits. Unless other terms are stipulated in a prenuptial agreement, that is.

Zuckerberg and Chan actually may already have experience with relationship contracts. According to the 2008 book "Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good" by Sarah Lacy, Chan allegedly made Zuckerberg sign a "relationship contract" four years ago, prior to moving in with him in Palo Alto, Calif. where Facebook is headquartered (she was moving from Cambridge, Mass.). Among the rules Chan supposedly laid out: “One date per week, a minimum of a hundred minutes of alone time, not in his apartment and definitely not at Facebook.” (Neither Chan nor Zuckerberg have confirmed the validity of Lacy's claim.)

When it comes to an actual (legally binding) prenup, chances are the couple has one, says celebrity divorce attorney Raoul Felder. “You can bet your last dollar -- actually you can bet his last dollar -- that he has a prenup,” Felder says. “If he doesn’t, he ought to go to a psychiatrist and not a lawyer."

Some have wondered if the timing of his wedding is suspicious, that somehow Zuckerberg “conveniently” got married right after taking Facebook public to avoid making his company community property. But Felder doesn’t think the timing of Zuckerberg and Chan's marriage was a calculated monetary move. “My guess is that he was just too busy [to get married before],” Felder says. “Taking a company public is a big undertaking.” In fact, according to the Associated Press, Zuckerberg and Chan’s wedding was planned for months, well before the IPO’s date was set.

And while Zuckerberg has kept much of his relationship with Chan private, that hasn't stopped people from speculating over -- and directing their unsolicited advice at -- the couple.

Prenup veteran Donald Trump weighed in on the situation -- quite presciently, actually, as his comments came four days before the couple wed:

"So he's gonna be worth like $18, $19 billion, you're telling me he's got a girlfriend ... does he get a prenuptial agreement?" Trump said. "They get married, and then for some reason over the next couple of years they get divorced and then she sues him for $10 billion and she hits the jackpot ... In New York, she would get a big chunk of what he has."

On this point, Felder agrees. If Zuckerberg and Chan did indeed skip the prenup, he says that the split "might be the mother of all divorces."

Zuckerberg may or may not have protected his online empire with a prenup, but if he didn't, he wouldn't be the first billionaire to forgo it. Click through the slideshow below to read about five billionaires who tied the knot without prenups.

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• Steven Spielberg And Amy Irving

  <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-oprah-winfrey-drop-166128" target="_hplink">Billionaire filmmaker Steven Spielberg</a> and his first wife Amy Irving allegedly had a prenup -- but <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22149413/#.T7qAnp9Ytdo" target="_hplink">it was on a napkin</a>. When they split in 1989, a judge decided the prenup was invalid and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/top-10-pricey-divorce-settlements-in-hollywood-2012-5#100-million-steven-spielberg-and-amy-irving-9" target="_hplink">awarded Irving $100 million</a>.

• Paul McCartney And Heather Mills

  He might not have been a billionaire when he <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20186762,00.html" target="_hplink">split from Heather Mills</a> in 2008, but Paul McCartney certainly wasn't broke either. The pop icon -- who was declared <a href="http://music.yahoo.com/paul-mccartney/news/artist-name...rst-billionaire--12038355" target="_hplink">pop music's first billionaire</a> in 2012 -- and his former wife didn't have a prenup, so <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20186762,00.html" target="_hplink">Mills was awarded</a> $48.6 million in divorce court.

• Richard Mellon Scaife And Margaret "Ritchie" Scaife

  Richard Mellon Scaife, an ultra-conservative newspaper publisher, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101643_pf.html" target="_hplink">failed to protect</a> his estimated $1.3 billion fortune with a prenup when he married his second wife, Margaret Scaife, in 2007. The final amount of the divorce settlement has yet to be reported.

• Sumner And Phyllis Redstone

  Sumner Redstone, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/10/billionaires-2009-richest-people_Sumner-Redstone_KJHY.html" target="_hplink">majority owner and chairman of National Amusements</a> (parent company to CBS, Viacom and MTV), <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/34316968/The_World_s_Most_Expensive_Divorce_Settlements?slide=4" target="_hplink">split from his wife</a> Phyllis after 52 years of marriage in 1999. With no prenup, Phyllis received $100 million in the settlement.

• Michael And Juanita Jordan

  After 17 years of marriage, Michael and Juanita Jordan divorced in 2006. Though the couple signed a <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/rumors/post/Divorce-will-cost-Michael-Jordan-168-million?urn=nba-53560" target="_hplink">post-nuptial agreement</a> one year after their marriage, awarding Juanita one-half of <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/32798277/Michael_Jordan_First_Athlete_To_1_Billion" target="_hplink">Michael's fortune</a> in the event of a divorce, she ended up with one-third when they split -- a total of $168 million.

Comments

[ladyrider1958az]

03:16 AM on 06/05/2012

Why wouldn't she be entitled to half of anything made during the marriage? Why is this such an issue with people damn.

[Asmodean1]

05:38 PM on 07/15/2012

The question that begs to be asked is... did she earn it?

[johnnydanger]

05:07 PM on 05/28/2012

Damn z-Berg looks like such a feminine hygiene product.

[Alessandro Machi]

02:26 PM on 05/25/2012

Since Facebook shares have dropped from their original IPO, and since the wedding happened after the IPO was first sold at it's highest value, wouldn't half of the LOSS in value go towards Zuckerberg's wife?

So she could be a billion dollars in debt right now, no?

[dadredded1]

05:17 PM on 05/23/2012

facebook sucks

[Sindi Hansen]

07:39 AM on 05/23/2012

why border asking the QUESTION its non of our business, anyway for me it will bring tension immediatly such question asked " to have prenup" it means the guy doesn't trust me and why we would think of dirvoce that means there's no future here and dirvoce is guaranted.Love has nothing to do with your assets if you can't trust me well we might as well call it a quits!

[Hibernia86]

09:09 PM on 05/23/2012

If you were marrying someone who made a lot more money than you and you really loved him, you wouldn't make him sign an agreement for half of his money that you didn't earn (which is what you are doing without a pre-nub). That would be selfish on your part to think that in the event of a divorce you'd be entitled to money you didn't earn. I think if someone makes a lot of money and their girlfriend or boyfriend didn't want to sign a prenub, then maybe they should find another person to date, because it seems that person is just interested in your money.

[ladyrider1958az]

03:21 AM on 06/05/2012

Um it's PRE-NUP with a P - what's a nub? lol And I can't believe you said what you did. Didn't earn? They bother earn the money, even if she worked at her own job as a doctor I think I remember seeing, or if she stayed at home and raised babies and kept the house running she helped earn that money and she also supported him emotionally and he the other way around. Marriage is a partnership or don't you know that? I would be totally insulted if my spouse told me that the money was HIS while I did the housework and put food on the table, cooked and cleaned etc. And please don't try to say that isn't work. It is.

[Triolovelady]

07:25 PM on 05/22/2012

"Relationship contract"- haha too cute. He is a genius...she's a lucky LUCKY lady!

[TVegas]

07:24 PM on 05/22/2012

No, no prenup...he gave it up so he could get laid.

[Hibernia86]

09:10 PM on 05/23/2012

I'm sure there are plenty of women who would have sex with him, a multibillionaire, without requiring a marriage.

[quovadiszero]

05:58 PM on 05/22/2012

He did for one day with Morgan Stanley.

[phalynx]

05:55 PM on 05/22/2012

Just thinking out loud: I would support a state level bill making a prenup mandatory when obtaining a marriage license. Might help keep divorces simpler. Messy divorces use up court resources, cost taxpayers money and place added stress on the children.

[Hibernia86]

09:11 PM on 05/23/2012

I think that would be a good idea, probably.

[happycherylc]

03:20 PM on 05/22/2012

How come Mark doesn't like caucasian women? What's his problem with women of his own ethnic background?

[papamav]

06:28 PM on 05/22/2012

Whats your problem with him liking other races?

[happycherylc]

12:19 PM on 05/23/2012

It is selfish not to think of the kids if they have any. The Asian community will not embrace them because they will not be Asian and the White community will consider them Asian. It is just selfish thinking and the kids pay the price trying to fit into both communities who think they belong to the other. As a couple you never quite ever fit in with the other culture. You end up as a guest not one of them. It is just hard. Life itself is hard when do marry and have kids with a person of your own background but way times harder when you have mixed kids and marry someone from another. It is just harder. Your on your own island maybe with other mixed race couples. Just hard fitting in and belonging. There is a difference between fitting in and belonging and people having to be polite to you because of who you married. There is a difference. If your siblings marry and have kids with the same ethnic background then the grandparents always favor them over your mixed kids. Deny-Deny-Deny if you like but I've seen it happen again and again. It is again just hard.

[Cloudrider9]

07:54 PM on 05/23/2012

You can speak for whatever community you come from- which is apparently the Racist/Prejudiced Community. Sounds like the entire extended group you hang with pretty much shares your mindset too- Asian, White or otherwise. But don't speak for the rest of us who know happily married mixed race couples who have doting grandparents and in-laws that adore them. Just admit its your prejudice talking, and stop making it sound like you're thinking of their kids. This is 2012- and they live in one of the most culturally diverse places. Not 1950 in Alabama. And you can be the same race and STILL not be accepted by your in-laws for a variety of reasons. Get with the times. Its not about race- its about love. In 2012- talking the way you do on a public forum- you should be embarrassed to call yourself an American. Btw- they're going to have BEAUTIFUL and SMART kids.

[SLM89]

03:16 PM on 05/22/2012

weird picture for wedding shot...

[faller]

09:27 PM on 05/22/2012

You think so? I think they "like" each other very much.

[Snapdragon03]

03:08 PM on 05/22/2012

I think if you are deeply concerned about the marriage ending before you even marry, then you both need to do some serious soul searching before saying "I DO"...
Marriage is supposedly for better or worse., not until you are bored and decide to move on. Think it through first. :) But that's just me.

[Hibernia86]

09:15 PM on 05/23/2012

Yes, but the problem is what if the lesser earning spouse wants to get a divorce? Then they take a large chunk of the money that they didn't earn. I feel that if the lesser earning spouse really loves you, then they won't want to set up an agreement where they take money that they didn't help contribute to the relationship (which is what you are doing without a pre-nub). To do otherwise would just be selfish

[Snapdragon03]

08:55 AM on 05/24/2012

Great point...I was under the assumption that whatever you had before the marriage could not be included in a divorce settlement; only what you have gained since the marriage, can be divided.  I guess in the instance of great wealth, its a smart thing to do.  This way everyone knows where they stand, should the union go down the toilet.  :)

[Unindoctrinated]

03:07 PM on 05/22/2012

I don't see how it is any of the public's business.

[Francine Latorraca]

01:36 PM on 05/23/2012

you r right

[thebarbecuemast]

02:31 PM on 05/22/2012

for what whe your worth billions who needs one

[Snapdragon03]

03:09 PM on 05/22/2012

Right...
If it goes that route, I would be happy with a few million... that would set with me just fine.

[Hibernia86]

09:16 PM on 05/23/2012

See? Just above you were arguing it wasn't about the money. Now in this comment it seems to be.

[martin1icecold]

01:59 PM on 05/22/2012

I surely hope he does. Money makes people do crazyyyyy things, no matter how close you were or how long.