What’s included in prenups for billionaires like Jeff Bezos

Bezos and Sánchez were married and previously divorced, notes Marilyn Chinitz, matrimonial lawyer for several billionaires and celebrities like Tom Cruise and Michael Douglas. And Bezos did not have a contract contract during this first marriage; Mackenzie Scott, his ex-wife and author and philanthropist, received Amazon actions worth tens of billions of divorce. Sánchez also enters into the relationship with a significant wealth, although a different scale (she and ex-husband Patrick Whienceell would have had an employment contract which dictated the division of their assets when they divorced in 2019).

The representatives of Bezos and Sánchez did not immediately respond to a request for a commentary on the fact that the couple had a contract contract, but Chinitz, which represents none of the parties, says that the pair had probably teams of lawyers and other professionals – estate lawyers, cross -border tax lawyers, business lawyers, the months of accountants for the months for the councils of wealth, On the agreements for the months of month.

Such an extensive process would reflect the incredible complexity of the couple’s finances. In the case of Bezos, Amazon shares which were the main source of its wealth gained significant value during his marriage to Scott, which is considered to have played a major role in the creation of this wealth. Even with a contract of contract in place, it would probably have left marriage with important assets since it was a matrimonial property, explains Chinitz. For his second marriage, Bezos will already enter billions of dollars, investments in dozens of companies, multiple houses, yachts and other assets. Meanwhile, Bezos and Sánchez have children from their previous relationships.

Chinitz notes that, on the basis of the documents she wrote for other über-Riches couples, all Bezos-Sánchez prenup would most likely contain many non-financial provisions to support her distribution of money and goods. These may include non-disclosure agreements and non-circulation clauses linked to media activity, confidential commercial information, the scope of prenate negotiations, etc.

“Since Jeff is one of the richest people in the world … Privacy problems and confidentiality management are also key considerations,” explains Paul Karger, CEO of Multifamily Office and Private Investment Firm Twinfocus. “There should be a clear understanding of the use and abusive use of the media and social media, storage and retention of documentation, [and] restriction on public interviews. »»

At the end of the day, Bezos and Sánchez probably consider this not only as a marriage but also a “commercial transaction”, explains Lauren Crane, partner at Bender & Crane, based in New York, and expert in prenuptial agreement which was not involved with Bezos or Sánchez.

Prosecutor: not a moment for secrets

All the combinations of spouse are not completely to come with regard to the assets they bring to a wedding, and in the case of ultra-rare, some even use “secret” and LLC trumbox to hide their money. Chinitz, however, says that is unlikely for someone’s level of wealth. He and his team would probably disclose all his assets, companies, properties, etc., such as Sánchez, to ensure that the agreement would hold in the case of a possible divorce.

“You never want to be in the position of spouse who has become a litigant where the other side moves to put aside the agreement on the basis that you have retained the information and that you have not disclosed your assets,” explains Chinitz.

In the case of über wealth, it takes a team of professionals on both sides, including “lawyers of lawyers”, accountants and taxwords to decipher the ins and outs of the assets of each party. Understanding and transparency are essential to ensure that the resulting prenup document derives before the court in the event of separation. Crane says that Sánchez is probably very familiar with this, since she has her own money and that she was previously divorced. This puts it to an advantage, for example, about twenty who marries someone with money and has no idea what they are doing.

“She may not have as much as him, but she still has money,” says Crane. “There is no way to find herself in the street if they divorced.”

The provision of the ultrawealth is also generally included in prevention in the event of divorce. In fact, this could mean that the litigant finds himself with nothing.

“If a litigant decides that he wants to cancel the agreement when there is a divorce, and that he claims that there has been a coercion and a constraint, you can have very penalized arrangements in an agreement,” explains Chinitz. “There must be a real consequence to try to cancel and invalidate a fully negotiated agreement.”

Fair and reasonable agreement

Although the wealth that Bezos has accumulated is already considered a property distinct from that of Sánchez, Chinitz says that the agreement should be “fair and reasonable”. In other words, if they divorced, the partner coming with fewer assets would not be left.

“The courts examine financial disclosure to ensure that the agreement is fair, reasonable, not the result of fraud, and that the conditions are not inadmissible,” she says.

It would be typical for the two to write an agreement based on the title: all that the name of Bezos belongs to him, all that the name Sánchez belongs to him, and the matrimonial assets are in the two names. Chinitz calls this that the “cleanest” couples can have.

That said, it is also common for the rich to create property settlement agreements. They call the less rich spouse to accept to give up future complaints against assets in exchange for a sum of money. Generally, they take the form of a lump sum payment after a certain number of years of marriage, or a sum of money specified for each year of marriage. This would be added to any support to which she would be entitled as well as assets in their two names (like houses), although Crane says that it is typical when the two spouses are rich to give up the support of the spouse and alimony.

A related component of numerous prenuptial agreements is a sunset clause, which essentially means that certain whole clauses or contracts expire after a specified time, let’s say 10 years, or when a step is reached, like the birth of a child. For example, the contract contract may stipulate that if a couple is married for 15 years, the agreement “will disappear”, or that he could dissolve when he reaches a certain age. Chinitz says she does not expect the Bezos-Sánchez contract to include this because they are in their fifties and sixties and already have children.

In the event of a divorce, Sánchez is “likely to leave with an important sum of money, but far from what his first wife, Mackenzie, obtained,” she said. “Mackenzie helped create these assets. Its wealth existed long before meeting or married Lauren Sánchez. ”

Portability

While Bezos and Sánchez call the southern house of Florida (recent development), they have several houses in different jurisdictions, notably Beverly Hills, Hawaii and New York, and often travel on the Superyacht Koru. As such, it is important that the contract of contract is portable, explains Chinitz. Lawyers will ensure that they have one day live or possibly divorce, the courts will be governed by the law of the place where they signed the contract.

“If, for any reason, they decide that they will move to Switzerland or France, then they will keep local advice there which will write an identical agreement, the mirror image, to the one they entered before getting married,” she said.

In addition, the presale contract would have provisions for the construction of the inheritance, gifts, philanthropy, etc.

“Jeff should ensure that his lawyer team examines all commercial, commercial and monetary transactions in the future to ensure that everything is in accordance with the terms and conditions of the prenuptial agreement, as well as to philanthropic and multigenerational activities,” explains Karger.

‘Until death

That said, the contracts also dictate what would happen if one of the partners dies while the couple is still married. In this case, Chinitz expects there to be a complex series of trusts and other active ingredients that pass to the children of Bezos, as well as that of Sánchez.

“It is likely that in the event of death, it will probably put in place a very substantial confidence for Lauren, assuming that they are in an intact marriage, and that confidence would distribute a substantial amount of money per year to cover all its expenses,” she said. “But then when she dies, the beneficiaries probably do it, I imagine that [be] A foundation or … her children.

The surviving spouse would also receive his marital assets, including houses, investments, etc. Additional funds could also be provided to the surviving spouse in addition to what was in the trust and jointly owned, to provide liquidity immediately, explains Chinitz.

In addition, there could be stipulations like the surviving spouse who remained at home (assuming that he was only held in the name of the dead spouse) until his death, how much he then goes to their children or another beneficiary.

“He is known to be a very generous man,” she says. “It is a family mixed with seven children, and I am sure they will also support their children.