The world’s richest man announces divorce after 25 years of marriage
The world’s richest man and Amazon chief Jeff Bezos is ending his 25-year marriage with wife MacKenzie.
“We have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends,” the couple said in an announcement posted on Bezos’s Twitter page.
“Though the labels might be different, we remain a family, and we remain cherished friends.”
Bezos is the world’s wealthiest person with a current estimated worth of US$137.1 billion (AU$191 billion) according to Forbes. The 54-year-old owns 16 per cent of tech giant Amazon, which is worth about US$130 billion (AU$ 181.2 billion). Bezos also owns space company Blue Origin and newspaper The Washington Post.
MacKenzie Bezos is a novelist with two published books. She was known for supporting her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s business early on in their marriage by working as an accountant. She also founded anti-bullying organisation Bystander Revolution in 2014.
The couple, who has three sons and an adopted daughter, met at investment firm D.E. Shaw in 1993 where they worked together. They got engaged after three months of dating.
The couple lives in Washington State, which requires divorcing couples to split any assets gathered during the marriage. This means MacKenzie may leave the union with US$75 billion (AU$104.6 billion) in stock and become the world’s richest woman, eclipsing Walmart heiress Alice Walton, who currently holds the title with US$44.5 billion (AUS$62 billion) net worth. However, no financial details have been revealed about the divorce.