x
Breaking News
More () »

Jeff Bezos Will Keep 75 Percent of His and Wife's Amazon Shares After Divorce

Jeff Bezos Will Keep 75 Percent of His and Wife's Amazon Shares After Divorce
Credit: Jon Kopaloff/WireImage

Jeff Bezos and [soon-to-be] ex-wife MacKenzie took to social media on Thursday to announce the terms of their high-profile divorce.

Said the Amazon founder and CEO over Twitter: "I'm so grateful to all my friends and family for reaching out with encouragement and love. It means more than you know. MacKenzie most of all. I'm grateful for her support and for her kindness in this process and am very much looking forward to our new relationship as friends and co-parents."

pic.twitter.com/oFGWPkK3dB

In what appears to be her first tweet, MacKenzie said she is "happy" to be giving her ex-husband -- the richest man in the world -- all of her interests in the Washington Post and rocket developer Blue Origin. She is also granting him 75 percent of their shared Amazon stock, including voting control.

"Excited about my own plans," she added. 

Mrs. Bezos's exact net worth is hard to estimate, but her four percent stake in Amazon alone is valued at roughly $35 billion based on Amazon's current share price. That makes her the fourth richest woman in the world. Jacqueline Badger Mars of the Mars candy company is the richest [woman in the world], followed by Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, and L'Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers.

"It's impossible to put a value on the rest of it," said New York matrimonial lawyer Michael Calogero of MacKenzie Bezos's wealth. 

Jeff Bezos will have a 12 percent stake in Amazon that, as of Thursday, was valued at more than $108 billion.

Because Jeff Bezos retained three-quarters of the couple's Amazon stock, in addition to all of their financial interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, [MacKenzie] likely retained 100 percent of other assets, including real estate, [according to experts].

"It's not uncommon, when one spouse retains all of a business interest, for the other spouse to be bought out of that in cash or a cash equivalent," Calogero said. 

The couple announced their split in January after 25 years of marriage. Hours later, the National Enquirer published a story detailing Mr. Bezos' alleged affair with entertainment personality Lauren Sanchez, including the pair's racy photos and text messages

The Bezoses met in New York in the early 1990s while working at a hedge fund. Their divorce will be final in roughly 90 days.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(This story was originally published by CBS News on April 4, 2019 at 1:52 p.m.)

RELATED CONTENT: 

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Is Dating Former TV Anchor Lauren Sanchez Amid Their Divorces

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Announces He and His Wife MacKenzie Are Divorcing

Jack Osbourne's Divorce From Ex Lisa Stelly Finalized After Almost a Year

Before You Leave, Check This Out