Hollywood actor George Clooney married international human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in Venice in 2014. While not necessarily as well-known to the public as Clooney, Alamuddin is one of the most highly regarded lawyers in her field. The pair have two children together, twins Ella and Alexander, who were born in June 2017.
Alamuddin is a barrister specialising in international human rights law and has worked in the Netherlands and Beirut, Lebanon. She has represented some extremely high-profile clients throughout the course of her career, including Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Her husband once remarked: "I get to see someone at the absolute top of their game doing a job better than anybody I've ever seen."
George is no stranger to success either. The actor has won two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Syriana (2005), and Best Picture for his role as a producer on Argo (2013). The pair now split their time between homes in England, LA and Como, Italy. He also sold his tequila brand Casamigos to drinks giant Diageo in 2017, for a reported $700 million (£515.5m) upfront. According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2021, Amal and George are worth a stunning $407.4 million (£300m).
Michelle and Barack Obama met when they were both working at law firm Sidley Austin. Michelle was actually Barack's mentor when he joined the firm, which Michelle put down to the fact that they both attended Harvard. The pair tied the knot in 1992, at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
The 44th President of the United States, serving from 2009 to 2017, was Democrat Barack Obama, the first African-American president. Since leaving office, he's raked in money from book deals and high-profile public speaking engagements that paid as much as $400,000 (£294.4k). While some criticised Obama for charging such a premium fee, supporters argued that it allowed Obama to donate $2 million (£1.5m) to summer job programmes in Chicago in 2017.
Although propelled to fame by her husband's very public role, Michelle was extremely successful in her own right before she became First Lady in 2008. She trained as a lawyer and worked in the public sector in Chicago, earning an impressive salary of $273,618 in 2006, equivalent to $381,808 (£281k) today, from her role at University of Chicago Hospitals. She has since gone on to sell more than 10 million copies of her autobiography, Becoming, with 1.4 million copies sold in its first week alone. It was the best-selling book of 2018.
Jerry Hall is best known for her relationship with Mick Jagger, which lasted 22 years and gave her four children, although she has always had a successful career of her own. The Texan model built up quite a fortune from her modelling days in the 1970s and 1980s, and even transitioned into acting in the 1980s, appearing in Urban Cowboy (1980) and Batman (1989). She has an estimated net worth of around $15 million (£11m). While that's definitely not to be sniffed at, her husband has a little more buying power...
The Australia-born media mogul controls an empire that includes Fox News, The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal. In 2019, Murdoch sold most of Fox's movie studio, FX, National Geographic, and its stake in Star India to Disney for a whopping $71.3 billion (£52.5bn). According to Forbes, the Murdoch family is worth an eye-watering $21.6 billion (£15.9bn).
Singer John Legend met supermodel Chrissy Teigen when she starred in the music video for his song Stereo in 2007. They married six years later in Lake Como, Italy, and have two children, Luna and Miles. Both of them had impressive careers behind them before they got together.
Teigen was discovered as a model in her teenage years. She flourished in the industry and went on to be named the third highest-paid supermodel in the world in 2017 by Forbes, bringing in $13.5 million (£9.9m) that year. She has since branched out into television presenting and launched three cookbooks. The first was 2016's Cravings, which was followed up by Cravings: Hungry For More and Cravings: All Together. This foray into cooking led to Teigen's collaboration with US chain Target, where she created her own cookware line (she's pictured in a Target store with her mother).
Unsurprisingly, the majority of Legend's wealth and success has come from his music career. The singer-songwriter has also turned his hand to a bit of acting, starring in modern musical La La Land (2016), albeit as a singer, as well as taking the lead in a live TV adaptation of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar in 2018, for which he won an Emmy. More recently, Legend has branched into the world of NFTs by cofounding the music and art NFT platform, OurSong.
Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel and Australian model Miranda Kerr got married in 2017, after two of years of dating. The couple have two children, Hart, three, and Myles, two. Kerr also has a son, Flynn, 11, from her previous marriage to actor Orlando Bloom. Between them, the pair have a pretty impressive array of achievements.
Spiegel came up with the idea for Snapchat while studying at Stanford University, launching it along with classmate Bobby Murphy in 2011. The tech entrepreneur dropped out to create the app, and just two years later, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg attempted to buy it for $3 billion (£2.2bn), but was turned down. Spiegel, who is 31, is worth a stunning $7.4 billion (£5.5bn), according to Forbes.
Miranda Kerr was touted as a model when she was just 13, after winning a magazine modelling contest, and she went on to become the first Australian Victoria's Secret Angel. Since then she's launched a successful skincare business, KORA Organics, in 2009, which was 95% self-funded.
They may be less well known than some celebrity couples on our list, but former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and tech investor Zachary Bogue are known to be one of Silicon Valley's most successful power couples. The pair got married in San Francisco in 2009 and have three children together.
After graduating from Stanford University in 1999 with a bachelor's and master's in computer science, Mayer started her career at Google as one of the firm's first employees. She worked there for 13 years before jumping ship to become the CEO of fledgling tech company Yahoo in 2012. Her tenure there was not so successful, but she now has a fortune of $800 million (£589.2m), according to Forbes. In 2018, she co-founded technology company Lumi Labs, which focuses on building consumer applications using artificial intelligence. The company was renamed Sunshine in 2020.
Mayer's husband Zachary Bogue is a lawyer turned investor and adviser for data start-ups. Bogue has gone on to co-found Data Collective, a group of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and engineers which invests in data-focused companies. He has a rumoured net worth of $300 million (£220.9m).
Meg Whitman, as the former CEO of both eBay and Hewlett-Packard, is the most well-known of this couple. Yet her husband is just as much a high achiever as his wife...
Whitman started off her career as a brand manager and consultant. In 1998, she became CEO of eBay, taking the company from $5.7 million to $8 billion in sales over the course of a decade. In 2011, she became CEO of Hewlett Packard, overseeing its split into two different companies, HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, in 2015. She's also run for California governor in 2010, albeit unsuccessfully. In 2018, she invested in e-sports company Immortals and sits on the board. According to Forbes, her net worth is $3.9 billion (£2.9bn).
Discover the world's richest self-made women
Whitman's husband is Dr. Griffith R. Harsh IV, a brain surgeon who has risen to the top of his game. Following in his father's footsteps, he decided to pursue a career in neurosurgery and obtained degrees at Oxford and Harvard Medical School, before working at the neurosurgery department of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He has made several advancements in his field, including creating a device that lowers the risk of radiation therapy for patients with brain tumours. The scientist is the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.
In an ornate wedding ceremony at Kew Gardens, London in August 2019, controversial gaming vlogger Felix Kjellberg – better known as PewDiePie – tied the knot with fellow social media star Marzia Bisognin. The pair have been together for around a decade and have racked up more than 118 million YouTube subscribers between them.
Swedish gamer and YouTuber Felix Kjellberg is probably the better-known half of this couple. He founded his YouTube channel, PewDiePie, in 2010 and became an instant hit for his gaming videos. Yet his success hasn’t been without controversy. In 2017, he received global backlash after uploading videos containing anti-Semitic jokes and was later decried for using a racist slur against a fellow gamer in a live stream. He responded to both controversies by posting apology videos on his channel. Sources estimate his fortune at $40 million (£29.4m).
Italian social media star Marzia Bisognin built her success through vlogging, posting videos about fashion and beauty on her YouTube channel. She quit vlogging in 2018 due to mental health reasons, and has since launched two online brands: Maì, a jewellery and home décor company, and Tsuki, a clothing and accessories line. She has 8.2 million followers on Instagram.
Arguably one of the most famous power couples in the world, Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) have gained legendary status, yet still try to keep their private lives a mystery. The pair began dating secretly in around 2001, collaborating on the hit song Crazy in Love in 2003. In 2008, they got married in a private ceremony in New York. They have three children: Blue Ivy, and twins Sir and Rumi.
Singer Beyoncé first hit the spotlight as part of girl band Destiny’s Child in the 1990s, before launching her first ever solo album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003. The album received rave reviews, and she won an impressive five Grammy awards the following year. She has gone on to have an incredibly successful music career, and is now worth $440 million (£324.2m), according to Forbes.
In 1989, Jay-Z started his career as part of a rap group, which earned him the nickname by which he’s known best. In 1996, he released his debut album, which achieved moderate success, and two years later, he rose to fame with the album Hard Knock Life. Following a break between 2003 and 2006, he has since released several other highly successful albums, collaborating with Kanye West and Justin Timberlake. His savvy investments in everything from Armand de Brignac champagne to Uber have helped him build a $1.3 billion (£957.7m) empire. Forbes dubbed him the world's first hip-hop billionaire.
Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault have now been married for more than a decade, having wed in April 2009. The actress, who is of Lebanese and Mexican descent, met the fashion CEO when they were both in their 40s before marrying and having their daughter, Valentina.
Hayek initially found fame in Mexico, taking on the title role in soap opera Teresa (1989) when she was 23 years old. Moving to Los Angeles in 1991, she landed a few smaller roles before being cast alongside Antonio Banderas in cult movie Desperado (1995), which signalled a big break for her. Her notable achievements include co-producing and starring in Frida (2002), which told the story of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
After launching customer relationship management (CRM) company Soft Computing while studying at business school in Paris, Hayek's husband, François-Henri Pinault, joined the family firm Kering in 1987, when it was still called Pinault Distribution. The group specialises in luxury fashion, owning brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Gucci. As Kering's Chairman and CEO since 2005, Pinault has prioritised sustainability, earning the company a place on the Carbon Disclosure Project's Climate Change "A" list 2019 for green actions. Pinault's family's wealth is currently estimated at $48 billion (£35.4bn), according to Forbes.
Media mogul Barry Diller and fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg may have got together later in life, but that doesn’t make them any less of a power couple. The pair have been married since 2001.
Barry Diller started his career in TV, working at ABC, Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. He became Chairman of Expedia in 2005, and held the position of CEO at IAC, which owns Match.com, Tinder, and OkCupid, between 1995 and 2010. According to Forbes, he's worth $5 billion (£3.7bn).
Diane Von Furstenberg’s big break came when she designed the iconic wrap dress in 1974, four years after launching her eponymous label. The dress achieved sales of over one million after just two years and became an instant staple item in women’s wardrobes. She went on to launch cosmetics and fragrance lines, work as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, and publish several books, including an autobiography titled Diane: A Signature Life. She appeared on Forbes' 2017 list of America's Self-Made Women, where her net worth was pegged at $300 million (£221.1m)
Tennis champion Serena Williams married Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian in November 2017, after giving birth to their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., in September of that year. The pair had been dating since 2015 but kept things relatively quiet on social media for the first year of dating. Announcing the engagement, Serena shared a post on Reddit along with a poem she had written and a cartoon created by Ohanian.
Pictured after winning Wimbledon in 2016 for the seventh time – the first was in 2002 – Williams has been one of the world's top tennis players for nearly two decades. The Olympian even managed to win the Australian Open in 2017 while eight weeks pregnant with her baby daughter. However, she had never heard of the website that gave her future husband success until she met him in 2015...
Alexis Ohanian launched the news aggregator and forum Reddit in 2005, at the age of just 22, with fellow University of Virginia graduate Steve Huffman. They sold Reddit to publishing giant Condé Nast for a reported $10 million in 2006. He wrote the bestselling book, Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed, in 2013. Forbes declared the internet entrepreneur the "mayor of the Internet" in 2012. Ohanian now runs a venture capital firm, Initialized Capital, which has invested in firms such as AdQuick, a digital out-of-home advertising service.
Now read about the Couples who built billion-dollar empires together
After meeting at a charity event, Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham began dating in 1986. At the time, The Oprah Winfrey Show had just debuted, and Stedman was a former sportswear model turned entrepreneur. Despite dating for over three decades, the couple has never married, but their unconventional relationship hasn't stopped them from being a powerhouse pair.
While Stedman’s relationship with Winfrey has undoubtedly cast him into the spotlight, he’s successful in his own right as a businessman, author, and public speaker. A philanthropist like his partner, he founded Chicago’s Athletes Against Drugs (AAD), a non-profit youth education charity, in 1985. He’s also the CEO of marketing and consulting firm S. Graham & Associates. He boasts an estimated net worth of $10 million (£7.4m).
Best known as a talk show host, Winfrey is famed for her gripping sit-down interviews with everyone from Michael Jackson to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. But the entertainment mogul also boasts several other accolades to her name, including producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. Winfrey was named as one of the richest self-made women in America in 2021 by Forbes and has an eye-watering $2.6 billion (£1.9bn) fortune.
Ivanka Trump and American businessman Jared Kushner met at a networking lunch in 2007. The pair married at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey in 2009 and share three young children together, Arabella, Joseph, and Theodore. Despite being just 25 years old when they first met, the young couple were already super successful…
Ivanka is the eldest daughter of former US president Donald Trump. As a teenager, Ivanka worked as a model and was featured in campaigns for Elle, Teen Vogue, and Tommy Hilfiger. Later, she was an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, as well as a boardroom judge on her father’s show, The Apprentice. Along with her husband, she left the Trump Organization in 2017 to become a senior adviser in her father’s presidential administration.
Like his wife, Jared Kushner also comes from a successful business family. He is the son of real estate developer Charles Kushner. In 2016, Forbes estimated that the Kushner family was worth an incredible $1.8 billion (£1.3bn). After his father was imprisoned for fraud in 2005, Jared took control of the family real estate business, Kushner Companies. He also bought Observer Media in 2006, the company that publishes the New York Observer. Kushner entered politics in 2017 as an advisor to Donald Trump and assisted in the management of his digital media strategy.
Cindy Crawford has been married to businessman Rande Gerber since 1998. The couple share two children, Kaia and Presley. While Crawford is the more well-known of the pair, Gerber's accolades are still seriously impressive...
Gerber started out as a model, before launching The Gerber Group, a chain of luxury bars and restaurants across the US and Europe, with his brothers in 1991. In 2013, Gerber also co-founded tequila brand Casamigos with longtime friend George Clooney. Business Insider reported his net worth at $100 million (£73.8m) in 2017.
Supermodel Cindy Crawford became a household name in the 1980s. She’s worked with everyone from Chanel and Versace to Dior and Ralph Lauren and has been featured on more than 1,000 magazine covers. In 2004, she cofounded the skincare brand Meaningful Beauty. She owns half of the company, which turns over more than $100 million (£73.8m) annually. In 2021, she also launched her own haircare line. According to Forbes, Crawford is worth $225 million (£166m).
David Foster and Katharine McPhee seem to be an unlikely couple, given their 35-year age difference, but the duo have been going strong for around five years. They first met in 2006, when McPhee was a contestant on American Idol and Foster was a guest mentor. They formed a friendship after the show ended, but didn't start dating until 2017. In 2019, the couple married, and they welcomed their son, Rennie, in 2021. Foster, 72, also has five other kids from previous relationships.
Foster is a Canadian music producer, composer, and music executive who chaired Verve Records between 2012 and 2016. While you might not know his face, you’ve certainly heard the songs he’s written, which include I Have Nothing by Whitney Housten and The Prayer by Celine Dion. Foster is estimated to be worth a hefty $150 million (£110.5m).
Singer-songwriter McPhee shot to fame as the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006. The following year, her self-titled debut album was released and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. McPhee went on to release another four albums, and has even dabbled in acting. She appeared in the 2008 comedy The House Bunny and, between 2014 and 2018, starred in the CBS crime drama Scorpion. Independently, she's estimated to be worth a cool $14 million (£10.3m).