Alphabet Inc Co-Founder Sergey Brin Files for Second Divorce

UTC by Godfrey Benjamin · 3 min read
Alphabet Inc Co-Founder Sergey Brin Files for Second Divorce
Photo: TED Conference / Flickr

Sergey Brin, the iconic co-founder of the American multinational technology conglomerate holding company Alphabet, has filed for divorce as court documents show.

As reported by Republic World, Sergey Brin said he is divorcing Nicole Shanahan, an entrepreneur whom he married in 2018 over “irreconcilable differences.”

While divorce is becoming a common occurrence, especially amongst mega billionaires, each new case, however, is given special attention by the media, and Sergey’s is no exception. The divorce filings were made earlier this month and as reported, both Sergey and Shanahan decided to keep the proceeding private.

“Because of the high profile nature of their relationship, there is likely to be significance public interest in their dissolution case and any potential child custody issues,” according to the filing in Santa Clara, California.

Sergey is the sixth richest man alive with a networth of $94 billion, most of which is tied up in his holdings with Google. He co-founded the tech empire back in 1998 with Larry Page. They grew the company to become the mega unicorn it is today and while they left the firm back in 2019, the duo of Sergey and Page continues to sit on the board of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) while holding the controlling share.

In divorce cases like this, asset sharing is often a major feature and speculations are currently ongoing as to what Shanahan is likely to take away from the crumbled marriage. As confirmed by several media platforms, Shanahan might have signed a Prenuptial agreement which may be all she is entitled to as the two-part ways.

The court details also revealed that Sergey is pushing for joint custody of their three-year-old daughter. The duo wants to protect the daughter from harassment that the separation might cost.

Google Sergey Brin and the Growing List of Divorced Billionaires

Besides being known as one of the major figures in Google, Sergey Brin is now also known as a prominent divorcee with Shanahan’s split the second within the space of 6 years. Sergey was married to Anne Wojcicki, the founder of Genomics company 23andMe with both divorced in 2015. They had 2 kids together.

Other high-profile billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates have also trailed this divorce lane in the past few years. Jeff Bezos divorced Mackenzie Scott back in 2019 and Scott a significant settlement that bolstered her donations as a Philanthropist afterward. As reported by Coinspeaker, Scott donated as much as $4 billion within the span of 4 months back in 2019 to help combat the global health crisis at the time.

Bill Gates and Melinda Gates were the high profile divorcee last year with the fate of their $148 billion fortune at stake at the time. While all of these divorces ended amicably, it showcases how frail the American entrepreneurial world is when it comes to the institution of marriage.

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