Did Mark Zuckerberg Obtain a Pre-Nup?

Mark Zuckerberg was married the day after Facebook’s enormous IPO. Did Mr. Zuckerberg obtain a pre-nuptial agreement (“pre-nup”)?

It is no secret that extremely wealthy people often enter into pre-nupitial agreements prior to marriage. Wealthy people, such as Zuckerberg, can avoid the publicity associated with a nasty divorce and protect business interests with well drafted pre-nups.

In many ways, Zuckerberg is Facebook; he controls the majority of the Facebook’s voting stock.  When you buy Facebook, you get Zuckerberg. The underwriters of Facebook’s recent IPO almost certainly considered the possibility that Zuckerberg’s girlfriend, now wife could gain access to Zuckerberg’s controlling interest in a company initially valued at over 100 billion dollars.  A well drafted pre-nup would allay underwriter concerns about who would control Facebook in the event of a divorce proceeding involving Zuckerberg.

In terms of timing, Zuckerberg may have gotten married the day after the IPO due to the fact state laws governing pre-nups require full disclosure of the value of each party’s assets. Expensive experts are often needed to value assets, such as privately held companies. The last thing a client, or his or her attorney, wants is to leave a pre-nup open to attack by not properly valuing assets in disclosures. After the IPO, Zuckerberg’s stake in Facebook was easy to value and disclose.

It’s hard to imagine that a shrewd businessman like Zuckerberg did not have a pre-nup, but we may never know. Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, have been together since college. It appears to be a strong relationship that has held up well in the glare of the spotlight.

If you have questions about Florida prenuptial agreements, please call The Taylor Law Office at (904)-339-5298 or e-mail us at [email protected]. The Taylor Law Office is based in Jacksonville, Florida.