The Divorced Founders Club
Vasanth Kamath@vasanthkamath
−0.3%
since Sep 30
The idea
This one is mostly for fun: the only real screen is that the founder has been divorced at least once, from record-setting settlements to serial remarriers to quieter cases who split and kept building. There's no real economic thesis behind it, just a playful way to end up holding a spread of big, founder-driven American companies across tech, logistics, finance, and a few wildcards. I keep a small cash buffer and spread bets across names rather than leaning on any single founder's story, treating it as a long-term hold rather than something to trade on headlines.
What it owns
- Founders who divorced and remarried while building enduring businesses with minimal public drama. · FedExIts founder divorced, remarried, and spent five decades building and shaping the company into a global logistics giant., BlackstoneIt operates a global alternative asset management platform serving institutional and individual investors across private equity, real estate, and credit strategies., PaychexIts founder has been married three times with divorces in between, while building the payroll processing company that carries his name., Charles SchwabIts founder divorced his first wife, remarried, and continued building the brokerage firm that bears his name without major headlines., Las Vegas SandsIts founder divorced before building the casino empire with his second wife, who continues to control the company today., Lululemon AthleticaIts founder is on his second marriage after a divorce and remains a major shareholder despite stepping back from operations.33%
- Founders with multiple marriages and divorces who continue to lead or shape their companies. · OracleIt has been led by a founder who has been married and divorced multiple times while maintaining control of the company., AppleOne of its co-founders was married four times with divorces along the way, though he stepped back from day-to-day operations decades ago., TeslaIt is led by a founder with multiple divorces who remains the most visible driver of the company's direction and strategy., Fox CorporationThe company was built by a founder whose personal life included multiple marriages, and the family maintains control of the business today.27%
- Founder-led companies whose divorces involved historically significant transfers of stock and wealth. · MicrosoftThe company was founded by an individual who experienced a widely documented divorce after a lengthy marriage., Amazon.comA founder's divorce resulted in a substantial transfer of company stock, making it one of the most significant marital settlements involving a major technology company., AlphabetOne of its co-founders has been divorced twice, with both separations resulting in significant changes to share ownership.21%
- Founders whose marital history includes divorcing and later remarrying the same spouse. · Estee LauderThe founder went through a divorce but later remarried the same person, and family ownership of the company continues., Wynn ResortsIts founder married and divorced the same person twice, one of the most unusual marital records among founder-led companies.10%
- Smaller, more volatile holdings kept for their founder connection rather than business fundamentals. · Virgin GalacticIts founder was divorced decades before launching this space tourism venture, which trades more on founder profile than business fundamentals., Trump Media & TechnologyIts founder has two divorces from public figures and remains highly visible in both the company and broader headlines.4%
- Cash5%