Is a happy marriage the key to becoming a billionaire?

Vardags’ managing director and leading international family lawyer, Catherine Thomas, commented to the Daily Telegraph for their article on super-rich power couples. The article focused on the prominence of married billionaire couples around the world, including in Silicon Valley and the world’s rich list.

The article suggested that, contrary to the popular image of well-heeled philandering, the richest in the world enjoy the benefit of long-lasting and stable marriages. It went on to contrast those partnerships with other, less happy, high power couples. The piece cited twice divorced technology mogul Elon Musk as a person who has not managed to combine business success with a long lasting marriage.

The Telegraph also observed that London is the capital of high net worth divorces, and perhaps the place where most wealthy people see their marriage end. This, as the article explained, is the result of laws which see marriage as a partnership, in which the accumulated assets should be shared.

Catherine commented on this position, saying “There is a recognition here that if one person is working and one staying at home, the one at home is contributing to the same level as the one earning the money. Particularly entrepreneurs and people running their own business, where they need to be very focused if they are in a stable relationship with somebody who is very supportive of them and takes care of family life then I wonder whether that enables them to be more successful in business.”