Bezos Couple Divorce After 25 Years, Yes, after 25 years of married life, Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos has confirmed his divorce and as much as $137 Billion could be at stake. In a statement, Jeff Bezos and his wife declared on Twitter…
“We want to make people aware of a development in our lives. As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends.”
What People Are Saying About The Divorce
“Your divorce sounds better than most people’s marriages.”
“So it’s true money can’t buy you love sad glad I’m not rich I know my marriage is built in mutual suffering lol.”
“Well there goes no. 1 as richest man.”
“She will be richest woman ever alive and will have complete freedom to do everything she wishes for the rest of the life and nothing will be out of reach, she is Jeff Bezos now, and not just his wife. For him there are no reasons to get divorced, its huge failure.”
What’s With The $137 Billion?
Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife MacKenzie, met before Amazon was launched. They did not even have any prenup. The couple had met in New York, at a management investment firm. After they married, they move to Seattle and founded Amazon. MacKenzie became one of the first employees of Amazon.
As such, in their divorce settlement, it is quite likely that Jeff Bezos’ 16% stake in Amazon and his $137 billion fortune, could be divided in half between him and his ex-wife.
Word has it that even if Jeff Bezos’ fortune is not split in half between the both of them, his ex-wife MacKenzie could still end up being the richest woman in the world.
How Will It Affect Amazon?
It is quite unlikely that the divorce of the founder of Amazon, is likely to upset things at Amazon. Amazon is presently rated as the most valuable company in the world, with a worth of $810 billion, just ahead of Microsoft ($789 billion).
However, Amazon was founded one year after Bezos and MacKenzie got married. As such, it could be that she may be entitled to half of Bezos’ Amazon fortune, which would be half of Amazon’s value today – $137 billion. Which would mean MacKenzie could get $66 billion.
How Much Will His Ex-Wife Get?
Perhaps, this could be the most expensive divorce in the history of the world. But, exactly how much will his ex-wife get in the divorce is not known for sure. This is a very complex issue and it will be determined by the value of Amazon and what the marriage law dictates.
But Bezos and his ex-wife live in the state of Washington, which happens to be a community property state. What this means is that whatever wealth was accumulated by them during their marriage, would most likely have to be split between them.
Where Would This Leave Bezos With Amazon?
If Bezos has to pay his wife half of his stake at Amazon, which would be him paying MacKenzie $66 billion, Bezos would either have to sell his Amazon shares or pledge them. This would mean that his partnership at Amazon would be diluted and he would lose control over the company. According to regulatory filings, Bezos owns just under 16% of Amazon or just under 80 million shares of Amazon.
According to West Palm Beach divorce attorney, Jeffrey Fisher, “The issue will be how to value the assets with diminished control. There would be an argument by the attorneys that the Amazon stake is not worth as much without Bezos in control, so that would affect any settlement.”
Christina Johnson is a proud born and raised Torontonian. Christina has worked as a journalist for nearly a decade having contributed to several large publications including the Yahoo News and the Financial Post. As a journalist for White Pine Tribune, Christina covers national and international developments.
