“He said it wasn’t a prenup, so I trusted him.”

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 tells 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 interpreted the agreement as something his company’s board wanted them to sign, saying, “It’s not a prenuptial agreement.”

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Justine trusted her husband-to-be and signed the document without fully understanding its implications. “I trusted my husband – why else would I have married him? – and I told myself it didn’t matter,” she recalls, a decision that would have far-reaching consequences.

“I had essentially signed away all my rights as a married person, including any claim to community property except our house, which would be transferred to my name once we had a child,” she writes. Justine would later understand that this agreement limited 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 risen to more than $100 million, further widening the economic gap between them. “He transferred most of his new fortune to his second company, an online banking institution, X.com, which later became PayPal,” she explains.

She reflects on the enormous wealth they amassed and the lifestyle that followed. Their home became a 6,000-square-foot estate in Bel Air and their travels included flying on Elon’s private jet. “When we traveled, we drove into the airport to Elon’s private jet, where a private stewardess handed us champagne,” she recalls, painting a picture of their high-flying 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 said to me, ‘I am the alpha in this relationship.'” The pressure of their dynamic weighed on her, but she continued to support and adapt to his growing ventures to their evolving lifestyle.

The story continues

Years later, as their marriage ended, Justine reflected on her choices and the financial implications of that one document she signed so early. She trusted Elon then, but now recognizes the long-term impact of giving up her financial rights.

Her story sheds light on how financial agreements can shape marriage and, in this case, how she struggled with the consequences years after first signing on the dotted line.

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This article Elon Musk’s Ex-Wife and Mother of Five Claims He Made Her Give Up Financial Rights: ‘He Said It Wasn’t a Prenup, So I Trusted Him’ originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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