lululemon founder Chip Wilson and wife Summer split with no prenup, billions at stake
Chip and Summer Wilson are reportedly getting a divorce, with those reports suggesting that there was no prenuptial agreement in place. So what’ll that mean for his riches?
Wilson, who is known for being a founder of one of the most popular athleisure brands in the world, lululemon, is one of the wealthiest people in the province. He also happens to own the most valuable piece of real estate in all of British Columbia.
The initial report came from Bloomberg, which stated that the billionaire, who is still one of the biggest shareholders of lululemon, was divorcing Summer after more than 20 years. The report also noted that Summer was one of lululemon’s earliest employees.
“Summer Wilson was lululemon’s founding lead designer, according to her website. She played a crucial role during the company’s foundational years, Chip Wilson has said,” Bloomberg wrote.
Bloomberg states that the effect on the family’s assets hasn’t yet been determined, according to someone familiar with the matter.
Daily Hive got in touch with Oliver Spinks, a founding lawyer with Outset Law. The firm handles family law, including property division and separation agreements.
We asked Spinks how this kind of situation typically breaks down.
“The biggest misconception is that no prenup automatically means one spouse gets half of the other spouse’s entire fortune. That is not how B.C. family law works,” he said.
Spinks pointed out that the starting point is family property being divided equally, “generally” speaking. He said that property one spouse brought into a relationship can be excluded.
“The important catch is that the increase in value of excluded property during the relationship is generally family property.”
Speaking of property, earlier this year, according to reports, Wilson won an appeal to bring his home’s property value down by a whopping $18 million.
BC Assessment currently lists the property’s value at $73,457,000.
Spinks said that for a property this valuable, you’d expect a qualified real estate appraiser or valuator to determine a fair market value. He also said that the $73 million assessed figure wouldn’t usually be the figure that parties would rely on to settle a family law case.
We also asked Spinks about how long a situation like this, with so much at stake, could take to resolve.
“If they are both motivated to resolve things and the financial picture can be agreed, a case like this could actually be over relatively quickly. At this level of wealth, sometimes the practical answer is simply a very large cheque or equalization payment that allows both sides to move on,” Spinks said.
It’s a completely different story if this turns into a fight, though.
“With the scale of Chip Wilson’s reported wealth, there could be disputes over business interests, investments, real estate, excluded property, valuations, and tax consequences. If those issues are heavily contested and the matter proceeds through the courts, it could take a couple of years, or potentially longer, to fully resolve.”
According to Forbes’ most recent billionaire ranking, Wilson saw his fortune dwindle somewhat compared to previous years. Wilson was ranked 645 on the list, with a reported net worth of $6.5 billion.
Spinks says if this were a contested case, it could be a multi-year dispute.
Wilson also has many children, and Spinks said that, legally, children are separate from the property fight.
“Money can solve many of the practical consequences of separation, but it does not remove the emotional impact on children,” Spinks added.
He also said that at this level of wealth, you don’t usually see people fighting out every issue in the public eye.
Just over two years ago, on Oct. 3, 2024, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim declared that date Chip and Summer Wilson Day.
“It’s hard to express how much Vancouver means to us and how integral it is to both our family and our businesses,” Wilson wrote in an Instagram post.
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Despite Wilson’s departure from lululemon, he has remained very vocal about the business and has criticized the decisions current leaders have made on more than one occasion.