Two of the world’s richest and most prominent people, Elon Musk and Sergey Brin, are on the agenda this time with a love triangle. It is claimed that Musk had a short affair with Brin’s wife, and after the apocalypse, he got down on his knees and apologized to his old friend. Here are all the details and Musk’s reaction to the news…
We are very used to seeing news about celebrities’ love lives in the tabloids or tabloids. However, it is quite unusual for one of the world’s most prominent economic and financial newspapers to carry such a story on its headlines.
Therefore, the news of the Elon Musk-Sergey Brin tension published by the Wall Street Journal today made quite a big noise.
According to sources close to the subject who spoke to the newspaper, Musk had a short-term affair with the wife of Brin, one of the founders of Google, in the fall of last year. Upon learning of this, Brin filed for divorce against his wife Nicole Shanahan and ended his friendship with Musk.
The friendship of Musk and Brin, one of the most well-known entrepreneurs not only in the US but also in the world, dates back more than 20 years. In a previous statement, Musk said that he had been a guest at Brin’s house in Silicon Valley from time to time over the years. Even Larry Page, the other founder of Google, told Vice reporter Ashlee Vance in 2015 that the three of them had ‘the strangest friendship in the world’ and that they often got together.
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During the 2008 economic crisis, Brin had given Musk around 500 thousand dollars to save Tesla from trouble. In 2015, Musk gifted Brin one of the first examples of Tesla’s all-electric sports cars.
Musk, who still holds the title of the world’s richest person, has an estimated fortune of 240 billion dollars according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Brin ranks 8th in the same list with 95 billion dollars.
SHE FILED FOR DIVORCE AFTER SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT THE AFFAIR
Sources close to the matter have reported that tensions between the two billionaires and their teams have been escalating in recent months. Brin reportedly told his financial advisors to sell their personal investments in Musk’s companies. The size of these investments, or whether any sales have taken place, has not been revealed.
In the divorce case she filed against Shanahan in January 2022, Brin claimed that there was “severe incompatibility” between them. People close to the matter stated that Brin filed this lawsuit a few weeks after learning about the short-term relationship between Musk and Shanahan.
A source from Shanahan’s inner circle said that Brin and his wife had separated in early December, when the affair took place, but that they were still living in the same house. The petition for divorce filed by Brin states that the couple’s separation date is December 15, 2021.
Neither Brin, Musk nor Shanahan’s representatives responded to requests for comment, the Wall Street Journal reported.
However, about 11 hours after the news was published, Musk made a statement on Twitter, saying, “This is complete nonsense. Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night,” Musk wrote on Twitter. Adding that he had only seen Shanahan twice in the last three years, Musk said that there were other people present in these meetings and that there was no romantic atmosphere.
Referring to a series of negative news about him and his company recently, Elon Musk said, “Character assassination attacks have reached a new level this year, but the news is all empty. I work very long hours, so I don’t have time for such shenanigans.” Musk also criticized the Wall Street Journal, saying, “They supposedly have high journalistic standards, but they are no better than a tabloid. The WSJ should report news that really matters to its readers and is based on hard facts, not rumors they hear from third parties.” Musk, who is known for his extremely sincere style on Twitter, responded to a follower’s tweet saying “I’m glad to hear that, don’t be a womanizer” with “Aah ah… I haven’t had sex for so long,” he replied.
MUSK HAS RECENTLY BEEN ON THE AGENDA WITH HIS PERSONAL LIFE
In an interview with news website Puck earlier this month, Shanahan said of Brin’s divorce filing, “I hope Sergey and I can move forward without losing our honor, integrity and harmony for the sake of our child. We are both working for this,” he said.
Musk, on the other hand, has often been on the agenda with his private life in the last two months. Musk, who was accused of (and denied) undressing in front of a flight attendant at SpaceX, also revealed last year that he had twins with an executive at Neuralink, the company he founded. The news that one of his 10 children rejected Musk also made news.
On the other hand, Musk, who backed out of buying Twitter and was sued by investors, will appear before a judge in October.
MUSK GOT DOWN ON HIS KNEES AND APOLOGIZED
Brin and Shanahan met at a yoga camp at Wanderlust about seven years ago and married roughly four years ago. Before Shanahan, Brin was married to Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of genetics company 23andMe, and Shanajan was married to a finance company executive. Brin and Wojcicki have two children.
The couple is also said to be experiencing problems due to issues such as pandemic closures in the fall of 2021 and the care of their 3-year-old daughter.
According to sources, the relationship between Musk and Shanahan took place at the Art Basel event in Miami in December 2021.
Then, earlier this year, Musk and Brin met at a party. Musk knelt in front of Brin, apologized for being with his wife and asked for forgiveness.
Brin accepted the apology, but the two do not see each other as often as they used to.
The alleged affair happened after Musk broke up with his on-and-off girlfriend, singer Grimes, in September. Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, and Musk had their second child via surrogate in December 2021.
Musk’s twins with the aforementioned Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis were also born last fall.
ALIMONY BECAME A PROBLEM IN THE DIVORCE PROCESS
Brin and Shanahan are currently in the process of mediation in the divorce case. Sources have also stated that Shanahan has asked Brin for more than 1 billion dollars in alimony. Sources state that Brin found the amount requested by Shanahan much higher than the amount in the prenuptial agreement between them. On the other hand, the Shanahan side argues that $ 1 billion is too small compared to Brin’s $ 95 billion fortune. Shanahan also states that she signed the prenuptial agreement under duress while pregnant.
Shanahan is now the director of a foundation advocating reproductive equality. Brin, who co-founded Google with Larry Page in 1998, left the helm of Google’s umbrella company Alphabet in 2019 but remains on the board.
Brin has since thrown himself into sports, reportedly working to learn several Olympic disciplines at the same time.
Brin, who also manages a $4.4 billion family foundation, donates to areas such as education and Parkinson’s research. Brin also supports an airship startup called LTA Research And Exploration and is writing a physics book to be taught in schools.
