It being reported by several sources that Sergey Brin, Google founder and board member, has filed for divorce from his wife of four years, Nicole Shanahan, an IP attorney and former patent analytics entrepreneur.
Shanahan is a former RPX employee and assistant to Professor Colleen Chien at Santa Clara University School of Law. As reported in IP CloseUp, Shanahan sold ClearAccess IP to Erich Spangenberg’s IPwe in April 2020. Spangenberg, a patent monetization specialist, was an early investor in ClearAccess IP, a patent analytics firm that draws on artificial intelligence.
ClearAccess IP is described on Shanahan’s LinkedIn profile as a “purpose-built solution for reducing the transaction costs associated with building, managing and distributing patents and patent rights.”
Musk, CEO of EV maker Tesla, is the richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $240 billion. Brin ranks eighth world-wide, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a $95 billion fortune.
Shanahan is reportedly seeking a $1 billion settlement according to people familiar with the negotiations, in excess of her pre-nuptual agreement with Brin.
“Dignity, Honesty and Harmony”
“I hope for Sergey and I to move forward with dignity, honesty and harmony for the sake of our child,” Shanahan told Puck News earlier this month in regards to the divorce. “And we are both working towards that.”
The liaison with Musk reportedly took place in early December 2021 at Art Basel in Miami, according to people knowledgable about the matter reports the Wall Street Journal. Art Basel is an annual festival that draws collectors and wealthy attendees from around the world.
While married to Brin, Shanahan donated $100 million to social programs focused on efforts like improving the criminal justice system and climate change. The funding also supports fertility later in life, a topic she has firsthand experience with after struggling to become pregnant in her thirties, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported.
Since stepping down from Alphabet management in 2019, Brin has been involved in fitness pursuits, including trying to learn different Olympic sports, say those who know him. He runs a $4.4 billion family foundation that has supported such causes as education and Parkinson’s research.
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Image source: Taylor Hill for Getty Images via WSJ.com; yahoo.com
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