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Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, wife reportedly split without prenup

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Lululemon Athletica Inc. founder Chip Wilson and his wife and longtime business partner, Shannon “Summer” Wilson, are reportedly divorcing after more than two decades of marriage.

A family legal proceeding between the couple was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in April, though the contents of the case are not publicly accessible, Bloomberg reported.

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Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, also reported that there is no prenuptial agreement between the couple, though it remains unclear how the divorce could affect the division of their assets.

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Chip Wilson, founder of Lululemon Athletica, and his wife, Shannon “Summer” Wilson, attend a news conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sept. 15, 2022. (Taehoon Kim/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Lululemon and Chip Wilson could not immediately be reached by FOX Business for comment.

Chip Wilson, 71, founded Vancouver-based Lululemon in 1998, according to Bloomberg.

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He is widely credited with helping pioneer the athleisure apparel market.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Chip Wilson has an estimated net worth of roughly $6.1 billion.

Summer Wilson, 52, served as the company’s founding lead designer, according to her website. Chip Wilson has previously credited her with playing a key role in building the brand during its early years, Bloomberg reported.

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Chip Wilson is widely credited with helping pioneer the athleisure apparel market. (Taehoon Kim/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The couple married in 2002.

Though both left the company more than a decade ago, Chip Wilson remains one of Lululemon’s largest shareholders and has continued to publicly weigh in on the retailer’s direction, Bloomberg reported.

He owns roughly 8.6% of the company, a stake worth just under $1 billion, while Summer Wilson owns nearly 1%, valued at about $100 million, according to Bloomberg.

Under British Columbia law, assets owned before a marriage generally remain excluded from division, while any increase in their value during the marriage is generally considered family property and is typically divided equally.

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“In British Columbia, the value of assets brought into the marriage is not shareable, but the gain is called family property and presumptively divided 50-50,” Lorne MacLean KC, founder of Vancouver-based MacLean Law, told The New York Post.

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Chip Wilson remains one of Lululemon’s largest shareholders and has continued to publicly weigh in on the retailer’s direction.  (Isabella Falsetti/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Wilsons’ reported split joins a number of high-profile billionaire divorces in recent years.

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott finalized their divorce in 2019. Scott received a roughly 4% stake in Amazon, then valued at about $36 billion, BBC News reported at the time.

In 2021, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates divorced after 27 years. Following the announcement, Bill Gates transferred billions of dollars in stock to Melinda French Gates, according to Vanity Fair.

 

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