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Jeff Bezos’ wife becomes world’s third-richest woman after $35bn divorce settlement

Published

April 5, 2019

Wife of Amazon founder and CEO MacKenzie Bezos is set to become the third-richest woman in the world after finalising her divorce from Jeff Bezos.

In a filing on Thursday, Amazon said MacKenzie Bezos is expected to hold 4 per cent of the company’s stock, worth roughly $35bn, which would make her the third-richest woman in the world, according to Forbes’ list.

The wealthiest woman in the world is Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of L’Oreal’s founder, who has a net worth of $49.3bn. In second place is Walmart heir Alice Walton, who is worth $44.4bn.

The couple released individual statements regarding the terms of their divorce on Twitter, with Ms. Bezos announcing in her first-ever tweet that she would be giving her ex-husband 75 per cent of the company’s stock.

Expressing her gratitude for the amicable split and for those who sent well-wishes, Ms. Bezos said that she was looking forward to the “next phase as co-parents and friends”.

Ms Bezos also announced that she would be giving up all of her interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, as well as voting control over her shares of Amazon to the Amazon CEO to “support his continued contributions with the teams of these incredible companies”.

In his own statement, the Amazon CEO reiterated the sentiment of looking forward to the future and praised his former partner.

He wrote on Twitter:

“In all our work together, MacKenzie’s abilities have been on full display. She has been an extraordinary partner, ally, and mother.”

MacKenzie also wrote on Twitter,

“Grateful to have finished the process of dissolving my marriage with Jeff from each other.

“Happy to be giving him all my interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, and 75% of our Amazon stock plus voting control of my shares to support his continued contributions with the teams of these incredible companies.”

The pair, who have four children, announced they would be separating in January after 25 years of marriage.

See their tweets: