When Olympic diving queen Guo Jingjing married Mr Kenneth Fok, the grandson of a Hong Kong tycoon, last month, the money matters of their resplendent wedding got as much attention as her diamond-encrusted gown.
Chinese netizens speculated, in particular, over a possible pre-nuptial agreement between the couple.
After all, the lavish Nov 11 ceremony, which reportedly cost at least HK$15 million (S$2.3 million), came amid a surge in the number of pre-marriage contracts signed by China’s rich.
Perhaps jolted by a recent string of divorces that pared down the wealth of some of China’s top tycoons, more are safeguarding their assets in case their unions turn sour.
“For many rich people, a physical union does not necessarily mean spiritual bonding, nor does it represent a complete sharing of assets,” noted well-known Chinese arts commentator Lu Liangyuan, in a blog post.
“So for Guo Jingjing, a pre-nup is absolutely needed.”
His comments came as Mr Wang Shi, 61, who heads China’s biggest property group Vanke, made headlines when his affair with an actress 30 years his junior was exposed last month.
His divorce settlement with his wife of at least 20 years may exceed 40 million yuan (S$7.9 million), according to estimates by industry watchers cited by financial news portal ifeng.com.
Indeed, the rising divorce rates are perhaps the biggest culprit for a recent slide in the wealth rankings of a number of billionaires in China, including the country’s richest woman, Ms Wu Yajun.
Ms Wu, who co-founded property group Longfor with her husband, Mr Cai Kui, divorced him and transferred about 40 per cent of her shares to him.
Her net worth declined to about US$4.2 billion (S$5.1 billion), from US$7.3 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Such splits, in turn, have served as cautionary tales for younger tycoons. More are said to be taking precautions, with the number of pre-nuptial agreements rising in recent years, say Chinese lawyers.
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Click for more photos of Chinese rich involved in recent high-profile break-ups, and the glitterati who turned up at Guo Jingjing's Hong Kong celebration.
