5 ms·

I wonder sometimes if the marital law we have rn isn't a bit bizarre in the disbursement of half of the wealth of the "family", where 99.99% of that wealth is f

I wonder sometimes if the marital law we have rn isn't a bit bizarre in the disbursement of half of the wealth of the "family", where 99.99% of that wealth is from one of the people. I don't imagine I'll ever be Jeff Bezos, but I would feel pretty weird if I became an independent billionaire by divorcing my wife. It's a hot topic, but I would appreciate some discussion on it.

munk-a 5y ago
I would agree with you that the 50/50 split is pretty bizarre and arbitrary, however allowing that much cash to accumulate in one couple's pockets is, I think, a pretty clear signal that other much larger parts of our system are fundamentally broken.
BugsJustFindMe 5y ago
> the wealth of the "family", where 99.99% of that wealth is from one of the people. Scott was a cofounder instrumental in getting Amazon going in the early days, not a "trophy wife". Equity is equity.
- samatman 5y ago
  I'll take your word for that because I'm not privy to the details of early Amazon. The better way to handle that is for Scott to get actual equity which belongs to her, not to rely on divorce courts to split up assets in a way which is sometimes fair. If she had been a 'trophy wife', courts would tend to award her the same amount. HN isn't really the place to solve problems with marital law, however.
  - BugsJustFindMe 5y ago
    > The better way to handle that is for Scott to get actual equity which belongs to her She got exactly that. That money didn't change hands. It was always hers. People have just been lumping her wealth into Bezos' for years. Note "our" Amazon stock: https://twitter.com/mackenziescott/status/1113851260040503296 https://twitter.com/mackenziescott/status/111385126004050329...
    - samatman 5y ago
      Good to know. As I mentioned, I'm not privy to the details of early Amazon. The misconception that Scott received her wealth in divorce court is extremely common. I don't have high expectations for our media at the moment (cough) but they could have done a better job with this for sure.
teucris 5y ago
There is a very good reason for pooling finances through civil unions, joint filings, etc. When spouses/partners are working together for mutual success, there are countless things done by one party to enable wealth accrual of the other. In many cases, without one person doing very demanding work to enable their partner to work long hours, take major career risks, etc. their partner would have been unable to get wealthy at all.

munk-a 5y ago

I would agree with you that the 50/50 split is pretty bizarre and arbitrary, however allowing that much cash to accumulate in one couple's pockets is, I think, a pretty clear signal that other much larger parts of our system are fundamentally broken.

BugsJustFindMe 5y ago

> the wealth of the "family", where 99.99% of that wealth is from one of the people. Scott was a cofounder instrumental in getting Amazon going in the early days, not a "trophy wife". Equity is equity.

samatman 5y ago
I'll take your word for that because I'm not privy to the details of early Amazon. The better way to handle that is for Scott to get actual equity which belongs to her, not to rely on divorce courts to split up assets in a way which is sometimes fair. If she had been a 'trophy wife', courts would tend to award her the same amount. HN isn't really the place to solve problems with marital law, however.
- BugsJustFindMe 5y ago
  > The better way to handle that is for Scott to get actual equity which belongs to her She got exactly that. That money didn't change hands. It was always hers. People have just been lumping her wealth into Bezos' for years. Note "our" Amazon stock: https://twitter.com/mackenziescott/status/1113851260040503296 https://twitter.com/mackenziescott/status/111385126004050329...
  - samatman 5y ago
    Good to know. As I mentioned, I'm not privy to the details of early Amazon. The misconception that Scott received her wealth in divorce court is extremely common. I don't have high expectations for our media at the moment (cough) but they could have done a better job with this for sure.

teucris 5y ago

There is a very good reason for pooling finances through civil unions, joint filings, etc. When spouses/partners are working together for mutual success, there are countless things done by one party to enable wealth accrual of the other. In many cases, without one person doing very demanding work to enable their partner to work long hours, take major career risks, etc. their partner would have been unable to get wealthy at all.