Inside the complex and petty prenups of the superwealthy

Mint

25-06-2025

When Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott divorced in 2019, they didn't have a prenuptial agreement to govern the division of their assets. She received a stake in Amazon.com valued at more than $35 billion.
Now, as the world's third-richest man prepares to marry Lauren Sánchez in a multiday Venetian extravaganza, onlookers can't help but wonder whether there is a prenup and what it looks like.
It couldn't be learned whether they have one. A spokesman for Bezos declined to comment.
But divorce attorneys say Bezos, now worth over $200 billion, would be mad not to have one. The reason is simple: It is one of the most important tools the ultrawealthy use to protect their fortunes.
Attorneys say prenups are only becoming more common for people of all wealth levels. For those with net worths that are nine figures or larger, these agreements become sophisticated legal instruments to protect assets, business empires and family dynasties.
Prenups can dictate who gets access to the private jet, how the thoroughbred horses are cared for and who gets to say what about the divorce on social media. The embedded confidentiality agreement can even prohibit disclosing the existence of the prenup itself, says Doug Julian, co-founder of HelloPrenup, a prenup website.
Ultrawealthy prenups must address assets that can't be easily split or sold, such as startup equity that can't be traded in the public markets; carried interest in private-equity funds; royalty streams from intellectual property; and family trusts with complex distribution rules.
Without proper planning in a prenup, the illiquidity of these assets can lead to painful trade-offs. Selling company shares to fund a settlement can trigger significant capital-gains taxes. Dividing voting shares might shift control of a company. Transferring assets between spouses can create unexpected tax bills.
Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos arriving at the Vanity Fair Oscars party in March.
For the ultrawealthy, negotiating a prenup often focuses on preserving lifestyle and acknowledging the relationship's importance, while keeping business interests and major assets off the table in a divorce.
'You don't want them to have access to anything that would significantly change their wealth," says Robert Cohen, a New York attorney whose firm handles dozens of prenups annually for clients worth over $100 million.
Cohen, like other attorneys interviewed for this article, didn't work with Bezos or Sánchez.
Ultrawealthy individuals often have several homes in different states and countries. That means they have legal exposure in different places. A divorce could be filed anywhere.
The stakes are high: A prenup that is enforceable in New York might be tossed in London. That is why top-tier prenups often include choice-of-law clauses, locking in which jurisdiction's rules apply regardless of where a divorce unfolds.
'We have the agreements vetted by lawyers in those jurisdictions to make sure there's not going to be a problem," says Cohen. 'I recently worked on a case where we had to consult lawyers in eight different jurisdictions—all over the world."
Prenups can lay out who in a divorce supervises the packing of personal belongings, or can require a spouse to move out within 30 days.
Some clients demand that their prenups stipulate that a spouse maintain a specific weight—say, within 20 pounds of what it was on the wedding day—or exercise four times a week during the marriage. Others want financial penalties for cheating: One attorney described a client seeking a $1 million payment for each affair.
Randall Kessler, an Atlanta-based divorce attorney, recounts a professional basketball player client who insisted his prenup acknowledge that 'NBA players are known to have affairs" so cheating couldn't trigger costly penalties.
Judges may view behavioral clauses like weight requirements as overly invasive or punitive. They can also create endless disputes.
Courts also typically won't honor prenuptial terms that dictate child custody or support.
Still, these agreements often reflect an anxiety about losing control.
'Every prenuptial agreement is a power play," says Nancy Chemtob, a New York divorce attorney. 'It's exciting for them to have this control."
The leverage often goes to whoever cares less about the marriage. 'If you're willing to walk away, you hold all the cards," Kessler says.
Divorce lawyers say they detect inklings of deeper insecurities in this maneuvering. 'Very wealthy people are typically accustomed to being in total control of every aspect of their life," says Jodi Furr Colton, a Florida attorney. 'They often don't deal well with discomfort and uncertainty."
Most ultrawealthy clients aren't trying to leave their spouses with nothing. 'I find that they're often willing to provide enough in the prenup so it won't be a big negotiation," says Cohen.
Prenups can include 'sunset clauses" under which the agreement expires after 10 or 20 years—a way to acknowledge that long marriages grow into genuine partnerships. These days, ultrawealthy clients increasingly prefer stepped agreements, under which a spouse might receive $5 million if there is a divorce after five years of marriage and $20 million after 10, attorneys say.
One thing these agreements can reliably deliver is silence. While courts might toss sweeping confidentiality demands, narrowly written nondisparagement clauses typically hold up. High-profile couples often use them to bar ex-spouses from sharing intimate details, financial records, or embarrassing stories with the media.
'Wealthy people are insecure, just like you and me," says Peter Walzer, a California family-law attorney. 'They want to be loved. The wealth becomes an impediment because they're afraid of being taken advantage of."
Write to Dalvin Brown at [e-mail]