How much money will the CEO’s wife who hugged a female colleague at a Coldplay concert receive if they divorce?

Andy Byron, CEO of the famous technology company Astronomer, is being talked about all over the world after the image of him “being affectionate” with a female colleague was shown on the screen at a Coldplay concert. Andy’s wife immediately deleted her husband’s last name from her social media account and locked the account. How much money can she get if she divorces Andy?

Andy Byron, CEO of the technology company Astronomer, and HR Director Kristin Cabot became known to the world when the moment they were together at a Coldplay concert was recorded by camera and shown on a big screen.

Immediately after that, Megan Kerrigan Byron – wife of CEO Andy Byron – removed the last name “Byron” from her name on social media. Her Facebook account also disappeared. The media said that this was a sign that this marriage was difficult to save, or at least they might separate.

Andy is doing very well in the tech industry. His data infrastructure company Astronomer is currently valued at $1.2-$1.3 billion. Although Andy’s personal fortune is not public, as the head of a major tech company and one of the highest-paid tech CEOs (up to millions of dollars a year), Andy’s fortune is believed to be between $20-$70 million, according to The Economic Times and Times Now. His wife, Megan, is a respected educator, but her salary is certainly a fraction of her husband’s. They have two children. According to some US news sites, their prosperous life is largely based on Andy’s career.

If they divorce, Megan will likely receive a significant share of the divorce settlement. This depends on many factors: the length of the marriage, Megan’s significantly lower earning potential, Andy’s CEO-level income, each party’s contribution to the marriage (e.g., one party sacrificed more of their career)…

With these factors, Megan is likely to receive both regular support from the other party (Andy) and a share of the assets accumulated during the marriage, including savings, real estate, stocks… US courts will usually ensure that the person with the lower income (in the marriage) can maintain a similar standard of living as before the divorce and ensure stability for their minor children.

If Andy and Megan had no prenuptial agreement, and under New York law (where they live), Megan would likely receive millions of dollars in alimony and property division. That’s much more than Megan could earn from her job.

Andy (third from left) and Kristin Cabot (right) in an undated photo. Photo: Bain Capital Ventures.

There was a famous tech divorce before, that of Jeff Bezos (Amazon) and MacKenzie Scott. They split relatively amicably, and MacKenzie received 25% of the Amazon shares they owned – which translated into about $38 billion, a historic figure. And that was without any alimony being disclosed.

While Andy Byron’s fortune may not be as rich as Jeff Bezos’s, the precedent for tech tycoons’ divorces suggests that Megan, if divorced, would likely receive at least $5-10 million, or more.