Billionaire David Geffen Got Married Two Years Ago – WITHOUT A Prenup – Now It Might Cost Him A Fortune

David Geffen is one of the most successful – and RICHEST – entertainment moguls of all time. By our count, David's net worth is $9 billion. That puts him just $1 billion shy of his buddy/business partner, Steven Spielberg, and is enough to make him roughly the 400th richest person on earth.

David's story is the stuff of Hollywood legend. He is a Brooklyn kid who forged a letter to land a job in the William Morris mailroom, then parlayed his hustle into a career that changed the music and movie industries forever.

Geffen co-founded Asylum Records in 1970. The label would go on to launch bands such as the Eagles, Joni Mitchell, and Linda Ronstadt into superstardom. In the 1980s, he created Geffen Records, signing acts like Guns N' Roses, Nirvana, and Aerosmith. In 1990, Geffen sold the label to MCA for 10 million shares of MCA stock. When MCA was acquired by Matsushita in 1991 for $6 billion, Geffen's stock was worth roughly $700 million. Adjusted for inflation, that would be around $1.3 billion today. He also secured a four-year employment contract and famously gave his longtime secretary 1% of the sale, over $5 million.

By the 1990s, he was a co-founder of DreamWorks SKG alongside Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, producing hits like "Saving Private Ryan," "American Beauty," and "Shrek."

Along the way, Geffen amassed a $300 million real estate portfolio, a $2–3 billion art collection, and Rising Sun, his 454-foot super-yacht valued at $400 million.

With no spouse or children for most of his life, he controlled his fortune tightly, donating billions to cultural and medical institutions. But in 2023, Geffen surprised his friends by marrying Donovan Michaels, a model 50 years his junior. They did NOT sign a prenup. Now, less than two years later, that marriage could cost him half a billion dollars.

David Geffen, Donovan Michaels, Lady Jemma Mornington, and Arpad Busson (Photo by Kristy Sparow/Getty Images for Vogue)

No Prenup

When Geffen filed for divorce in May 2025, court documents revealed that he and Michaels had never signed a prenuptial agreement. For someone worth $9 billion, that omission stunned Hollywood insiders.

Their relationship has also become a point of contention. In legal filings, Michaels claims the couple first connected in late 2016 on Seeking.com (formerly SeekingArrangement.com), a controversial dating site often associated with so-called "sugar relationships." He alleges their first meeting was transactional, costing Geffen $10,000, before evolving into a long-term romance. Geffen's representatives, however, deny this version of events, calling the allegations false and insisting that no financial contract or promises of lifelong support were ever made.

Despite the disputed origins, Geffen and Michaels went on to spend years together. Michaels, then in his mid-20s, joined Geffen's inner circle, traveling on the mogul's $400 million yacht Rising Sun and appearing at A-list dinners alongside Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul McCartney. In March 2023, the couple quietly married in California.

Less than two years later, the marriage unraveled. The lack of a prenup means that while California law protects Geffen's premarital fortune, Michaels now has legal standing to pursue claims that Geffen promised him lifelong financial security. This claim could potentially cost the mogul a significant sum after just a two-year fling.

$500 Million???!!!

As we stated a moment ago, even without a prenup, most of David's money is protected since it was earned before the marriage. However, even a settlement to cover the years they were together will likely be enormous. As The Wall Street Journal noted, $90 million would equal just 1% of his fortune. But what if a court decides the amount should be the still-nominal 6%? That would equate to a $500 million payout. For Geffen, either amount would barely dent his empire. For Michaels, it would instantly make him one of the wealthiest men in Hollywood.

Michaels's lawsuit isn't about dividing community property. His legal team argues those promises amount to a binding contract. Geffen's lawyers deny this, insisting there was no agreement — written, oral, or implied — and that Michaels is simply seeking leverage for a bigger payout.

Real Estate, Art, Yacht & Legacy

Part of what makes this divorce so fascinating is the scale of David Geffen's fortune and the unique way he has built — and preserved — his empire.

Geffen's real estate holdings are worth an estimated $300 million. He has owned some of the most prestigious properties in the country, including multiple homes on Malibu's Carbon Beach, a $54 million Central Park West penthouse in New York, and the legendary Jack L. Warner estate in Beverly Hills, which he sold to Jeff Bezos in 2020 for $165 million — the most expensive home sale in California history at the time.

His art collection is one of the most valuable in private hands, with a valuation between $2–3 billion. Geffen has owned masterpieces by Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns, and Willem de Kooning. In 2016, he sold a de Kooning and a Pollock to hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin for a combined $500 million, the largest private art transaction in history.

Then there is Rising Sun, the 454-foot super-yacht originally commissioned by Oracle founder Larry Ellison. Geffen purchased Ellison's stake in 2010, making the yacht his own floating palace. Valued at around $400 million, it boasts a basketball court, wine cellar, and a crew of 45. Over the years, it has played host to celebrities ranging from Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney to Leonardo DiCaprio and Barack Obama.

Taken together, Geffen's portfolio — real estate, art, yachts, and investments — represents one of the great private fortunes in American history. For decades, he was the definition of control: no spouse, no children, no board of directors. Every dollar was his to direct. That's why this divorce is so jarring. After a lifetime of carefully curating his legacy, David Geffen may end up remembered just as much for the fortune he gave away — willingly or otherwise — after a marriage that lasted less than two years.