In a 2010 article for Marie Claire, Justine Musk, Elon Musk's ex-wife and mother of his five children, opened up about their marriage and her financial choices. Justine recounts how Elon, who was in the early stages of building his empire and would later become the richest man in the world, asked her to sign a "financial agreement" just two months before their wedding.
Elon framed the agreement as something his company's board wanted them to sign, saying, "It's not a prenuptial."
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Trusting her soon-to-be husband, Justine signed the document without fully understanding its implications. “I trusted my husband – why else had I married him? – and I told myself it didn’t matter,” she recalls, a decision that would have far-reaching consequences.
"I had effectively signed away all my rights as a married person, including any claim to community property except our house, which was to be vested in my name once we had a child," she writes. Justine would later understand that this agreement restricted her financial rights, leaving her with only their shared home.
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By the time eBay acquired PayPal in 2002, Elon's net worth had surged to over $100 million, further widening the economic gap between them. "Most of his newfound fortune he rolled over into his second company, an online banking institution, X.com, that later became PayPal," she explains.
She reflects on the vast wealth they accumulated and the lifestyle that followed. Their home became a 6,000-square-foot estate in Bel Air and their travels included flying in Elon's private jet. "When we traveled, we drove onto the airfield up to Elon's private jet, where a private flight attendant handed us champagne," she recalls, painting a picture of their highflying life.
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As the marriage progressed, Justine describes feeling increasingly sidelined and pressured to conform. Reflecting on this period, she writes, "As we danced at our wedding reception, Elon told me, ‘I am the alpha in this relationship.'" The pressure of their dynamic weighed on her, but she continued to support his growing ventures and adapt to their evolving lifestyle.
Years later, as their marriage neared its end, Justine looked back on her choices and the financial implications of that one document she signed so early on. She trusted Elon then but now recognizes the long-term impact of giving up her financial rights.
Her account sheds light on how financial agreements can shape marriage and, in this case, how they left her grappling with the consequences years after she first signed on the dotted line.
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