Nicole Shanahan Was Married to the World’s 10th Richest Person — What's Her Net Worth?

Although Nicole Shanahan was unknown to most people until this week, she has done quite well for herself. She was confirmed as third-party candidate Robert Kennedy Jr.’s running mate on March 26, 2024.

Kennedy may have selected Shanahan as his vice presidential pick due to her proximity to power in the tech industry. And the deep, deep pockets in tech. What's Nicole Shanahan's net worth?

It has been widely reported that Shanahan is worth between $5 million and $6 million, but she may be a billionaire. Her 2023 California-based divorce from the 10th richest person in the world, Sergey Brin, was settled in confidential arbitration.

Shanahan was married to the Google co-founder from 2018 until their divorce in 2023. Brin’s net worth is reported to be $120.4 billion. Many details of their divorce were kept private.

On Jun. 17, 2022, Business Insider reported on the divorce. The court filings emphasize Brin and Shanahan's desire for secrecy around the proceedings, and they have attempted to have much of the case placed under seal. "Petitioner is a co-founder of Google and one of the wealthiest and most famous technology entrepreneurs in the world. Because of the high-profile nature of their relationship, there is likely to be significant public interest in their dissolution and child custody issues," a filing from Brin's lawyers reads.

The story got much juicier a month later when The Wall Street Journal reported on June 25, 2022, that the dissolution of the union stemmed from an affair between Shanahan and Musk, who happens to be a former friend of Brin. Shanahan and Musk denied the report.

Shanahan spoke to People for a July 6, 2023, interview. She said, “My career has been based on academic and intellectual credibility, and I was being shamed internationally for being a cheater. To be known because of a sexual act is one of the most humiliating things ... it was utterly debilitating.”

Later in the piece she says, “Did Elon and I have sex, like it was a moment of passion, and then it was over? No. Did we have a romantic relationship? No. We didn’t have an affair.”

On Sept. 15, 2023, Business Insider reported that the divorce was finalized on May 26, 2023. On March 26, 2024, Politico reported that Shanahan sought $1 billion from the divorce.

Shanahan graduated from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2014 After law school she became the founder and CEO of legal tech company ClearAccessIP, a company that used AI to help speed up the patent process. She sold the company to a competitor, IPwe, in 2020.

In addition to working in tech, Shanahan has worked in film as an executive producer for Kiss The Ground and Evolver. She’s also a member of multiple boards: Carbon Royalty Corp, Extreme Tech Challenge, and the Sloomoo Institute.

When speaking about the circles that Brin, Musk, and Shanahan ran in, it makes a lot of sense for a spoiler candidate to pick her. “There’s a community of friendship involving not just Sergey and Elon but many other people in the tech world — investors, founders, really big thinkers, dreamers, and doers. Elon was another person in this group of people. There’s almost this generational ecosystem and it’s a community. You run ideas past each other and you ask questions."

Whether Shanahan had a romantic relationship with the third richest person in the world doesn’t matter. She still knows Musk. She still shares a child with the 10th richest person in the world. Just knowing those men may help Kennedy fund his third-party bid.