There's apparently a new must-have accessory for all the tech billionaires out there: A massive statue of your partner. In a post on this week, CEO unveiled a 7 foot statue of his wife, Priscilla Chan, in their garden. The piece was designed by New York based artist Daniel Arsham and was placed under a tree.
Zuckerberg and Chan have been married since 2012. Together, they share three daughters. In the photo, Chan is seen sipping from a mug.
She commented on her husband's Instagram reveal, saying "The more of me the better?" along with a heart emoji. But if anything, the boss is behind the times. Last year, founder made headlines after he installed a wooden sculpture bearing the likeness of his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, onto the prow of his $500-million-dollar yacht, called Koru.
Bezos went public with his relationship with Sánchez, a former broadcast journalist, shortly after they both divorced their respective spouses, according to . The pair got engaged in May 2023, the same month that Bezos installed the sculpture. spoke with Lisa A.
Keister, a sociology professor at , about the artworks and what may have inspired the likes of Bezos and Zuckerberg to have them made. "This type of behavior is certainly not entirely new," she explained. "Throughout history, the wealthy and powerful have commissioned portraits, sculptures, and other works of art to immortalize their loved ones or project their status.
Whether in ancient Rome, Renaissance Europe, or 19th-century America, the elite have used art as a way to display wealth, preserve legacy, and showcase personal connections." Zuckerberg captioned the photo of his wife and the statue, "Bringing back the Roman tradition of making sculptures of your wife." "Public displays of affection among the ultra-wealthy often go beyond the symbolic and enter the realm of grandeur and extravagance," Keister told over email.
Keister added that, "These larger-than-life statues could reflect a mix of affection, status signaling, and even a desire for immortality—preserving the image of a loved one in a manner that endures through time and space." She added that, "This trend fits squarely within the broader phenomenon of wealth signaling among the ultra-rich." "The creation of a unique, highly personalized object such as a statue of a partner could be seen as an ultimate form of bespoke luxury.
It symbolizes not just material wealth, but also the ability to capture and eternalize something intimate and personal. It's a way of saying, 'I can afford to turn my private life into public art'." "These statues could have a range of complex implications," Keister noted.
"For the billionaire commissioning the statue, it may reinforce their status, not just in their social circles but in their own self-conception. For the spouses or partner, however, the experience may be more complex." The trend may not pick up though; the only man richer than Bezos and Zuckerberg is the three-times divorced .
Other big tech billionaires such as Sergey Brin, Larry Ellison and Bill Gates are also divorced. All eyes, then, on former CEO Steve Ballmer..
