Even if she receives as little as 1 per cent of the fortune, she’d still join the three-comma club.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos on Wednesday shocked the world when he announced that he and his wife of 25 years MacKenzie Bezos have decided to separate ways. The two published a joint statement on Wednesday on the Amazon CEO's Twitter account stating that the two would get a divorce but continue to cherish each other as friends.
"After a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends," the couple said in the statement.
Expressing their gratitude the two further wrote, "We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we have been married to each other. If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again."
While the speculation are on in media over why the world's richest couple is getting a divorce, it now has been reported that Heff Bezos' affair with a friend's wife is the real reason behind their separation.
According to the National Enquirer report, Jeff Bezos alleged affair with former Fox LA TV anchor Lauren Sanchez, the wife of Hollywood talent agent Patrick Whitesell is the real reason behind his divorce.
You can read about his alleged affair here.
Meanwhile, below we have listed facts you need to know about the divorce of world's richest couple. (Images: Reuters)
1. MacKenzie Bezos could become world's richest woman
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The divorce settlement could leave MacKenzie Bezos as world's most richest woman. With $137.2 billion, Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos is the world’s richest person; an even split would make MacKenzie, an author, the richest woman with about $69 billion. But it should be noted that even if she receives as little as 1 per cent of the fortune, she’d still join the three-comma club.
2. No Prenup?
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TMZ reported that the Bezoses did not have a prenuptial agreement and plan to file for divorce in Washington. While Washington state divorce law considers all that the couple builds and accrues during their marriage as community property, that doesn't necessarily mean a 50-50 split of assets - including six homes, according to Business Insider.
3. What's all at stake?
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The split throws into question how the couple would split their fortune, which includes an approximately 16 per cent ownership stake in Amazon's roughly $811.4 billion market capitalization. Divorce laws in Washington state, where they live, hold that property acquired during a marriage is generally divided equally between spouses.
4. What will happen to Amazon?
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Amazon.com Inc shares seesawed on Thursday as investors questioned how the impending divorce of company founder Jeff Bezos would affect his control of the most valuable company on Wall Street and its ambitious expansion plans.
However, most analysts and fund managers are largely sanguine and say the divorce would not lead to any significant change in the company's leadership or its growth prospects.
