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I would marry someone I trusted to death and beyond, compared to which trusting with mere property is trivial. Yes, it's a risk... there's a saying about risk,

by gilrain 14y ago

I would marry someone I trusted to death and beyond, compared to which trusting with mere property is trivial. Yes, it's a risk... there's a saying about risk, though, isn't there? Let's give Mark the benefit of the doubt and assume he's marrying for love.

unimpressive 14y ago
>mere property Mark's stake in Facebook is a lot of mere property.
- hej 14y ago
  That should make it easier, right? No matter what, a divorce will never leave him not incredibly rich. He might care about something that’s not mere property (like always keeping control over Facebook until he decides he doesn’t want to anymore), but as long as we are talking about mere property, the amount should make it easier.
stephengillie 14y ago
The couple may be madly in love today, but human emotions are fickle and people change and grow over time. Sadly, there may come a day when both are more concerned with the future of the FB empire than with each other.
- larrys 14y ago
  "people change and grow over time" How true and as anyone who has been through divorce will confirm. In addition to the potential problem with what would be marrying simply a normal or a successful person I can't even begin to imagine the challenges of a marriage to someone with that much money and job responsibility. And no question marriage will detract from his work life (especially if he decides to have children). That even happened to Bill Gates as anyone who remembers the Gates before marriage will attest to.
  - Drbble 14y ago
    How did Gates (or Jobs, or Bezos) change at all until the day he retired?
sliverstorm 14y ago
I would marry someone I trusted to death and beyond Of course, but as a rational being you ought to understand you are fallible, and may occasionally misplace trust, no?
- fusiongyro 14y ago
  Prenups really kill the mood. "I love you til death do us part"—but if you turn out to be a bitch I'm totally cutting you off. Lots of aspects of marriage, and society in general, don't stand up to rational scrutiny. We're not just fallible, we're downright wooey. That doesn't mean these institutions are valueless or predatory—just that the human experience is not primarily about the rational. I could see this one either way. Maybe if you're a billionaire, the prenup makes it clear you're marrying for love rather than profit. From down here in the sub-sub-sub-billionaire world, it doesn't look that way, but who knows? Lots of things are different "at scale."
  - robryan 14y ago
    Losing half your wealth when things go south also kills the mood. You are right it comes down to rational vs emotional decision. From what I have seen of the public persona of Mark you would think there would be something there. The guy has carefully crafted deals up to this stage to ensure he keeps maximum control.
    - stephencanon 14y ago
      Losing half your wealth should have approximately zero effect. Any computer scientist will tell you that "a factor of two is close enough". I'm joking, but there's a hint of truth here. I can't imagine any level of wealth at which suddenly having half (or twice) as much would make any difference to me at all. A factor of two either way really wouldn't change my life appreciably.
      - paulhauggis 14y ago
        If I worked for years on my business, married a woman, and then she cheated on me and now gets half due to the divorce. It wouldn't really be the money that bothers me. It would be that that this despicable person gets half of my stuff. If you don't think that this will happen, it does. In the US court systems, the woman pretty much has all of the power. If she cheats on you and has a baby with another guy, you most likely will end up paying child support.

by gilrain 14y ago

unimpressive 14y ago

>mere property Mark's stake in Facebook is a lot of mere property.

hej 14y ago
That should make it easier, right? No matter what, a divorce will never leave him not incredibly rich. He might care about something that’s not mere property (like always keeping control over Facebook until he decides he doesn’t want to anymore), but as long as we are talking about mere property, the amount should make it easier.

stephengillie 14y ago

The couple may be madly in love today, but human emotions are fickle and people change and grow over time. Sadly, there may come a day when both are more concerned with the future of the FB empire than with each other.

larrys 14y ago
"people change and grow over time" How true and as anyone who has been through divorce will confirm. In addition to the potential problem with what would be marrying simply a normal or a successful person I can't even begin to imagine the challenges of a marriage to someone with that much money and job responsibility. And no question marriage will detract from his work life (especially if he decides to have children). That even happened to Bill Gates as anyone who remembers the Gates before marriage will attest to.
- Drbble 14y ago
  How did Gates (or Jobs, or Bezos) change at all until the day he retired?

sliverstorm 14y ago

I would marry someone I trusted to death and beyond Of course, but as a rational being you ought to understand you are fallible, and may occasionally misplace trust, no?

fusiongyro 14y ago
Prenups really kill the mood. "I love you til death do us part"—but if you turn out to be a bitch I'm totally cutting you off. Lots of aspects of marriage, and society in general, don't stand up to rational scrutiny. We're not just fallible, we're downright wooey. That doesn't mean these institutions are valueless or predatory—just that the human experience is not primarily about the rational. I could see this one either way. Maybe if you're a billionaire, the prenup makes it clear you're marrying for love rather than profit. From down here in the sub-sub-sub-billionaire world, it doesn't look that way, but who knows? Lots of things are different "at scale."
- robryan 14y ago
  Losing half your wealth when things go south also kills the mood. You are right it comes down to rational vs emotional decision. From what I have seen of the public persona of Mark you would think there would be something there. The guy has carefully crafted deals up to this stage to ensure he keeps maximum control.
  - stephencanon 14y ago
    Losing half your wealth should have approximately zero effect. Any computer scientist will tell you that "a factor of two is close enough". I'm joking, but there's a hint of truth here. I can't imagine any level of wealth at which suddenly having half (or twice) as much would make any difference to me at all. A factor of two either way really wouldn't change my life appreciably.
    - paulhauggis 14y ago
      If I worked for years on my business, married a woman, and then she cheated on me and now gets half due to the divorce. It wouldn't really be the money that bothers me. It would be that that this despicable person gets half of my stuff. If you don't think that this will happen, it does. In the US court systems, the woman pretty much has all of the power. If she cheats on you and has a baby with another guy, you most likely will end up paying child support.