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Bezos Divorce Makes MacKenzie World's 3rd Richest Woman

MacKenzie Bezos will walk away with 25 percent of the couple's Amazon shares, which are estimated to be worth roughly $36 billion. Jeff Bezos remains the world's richest man.

 & Matthew Humphries Former Senior Editor

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Back in January, Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos announced they were seeking a divorce, which left everyone wondering, as in any divorce, how civil it would be. But it seems the world's richest couple have decided to part amicably, and in the process MacKenzie will become the world's third richest woman.

As Reuters reports, the divorce settlement agreed by the couple will see MacKenzie give up her interests in both the Washington Post and Bezos' space company Blue Origin. Jeff Bezos has a $143 billion stake in Amazon, of which MacKenzie will retain ownership of 25 percent of the shares. However, Jeff will retain voting control over the entire stake.

Tweets by both Jeff and MacKenzie, which you can read below, portray how amicable and friendly this divorce is.

The 25 percent shares stake MacKenzie retains is worth roughly $36 billion. That net worth places her third on the female billionaires list behind L'Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers ($46.5 billion) and Walmart heiress Alice Walton ($41.5 billion). There's every chance she could move to the top in future depending on how well Amazon continues to perform.

From a business point of view, the agreement for Jeff Bezos to retain voting control is being seen a big positive for Amazon as it removes uncertainty. More specifically, Jeff Bezos has lost no power and neither he or his ex-wife are set to liquidate significant portions of their stake in the company.

About Our Expert

Matthew Humphries

Matthew Humphries

Former Senior Editor

My Experience

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

I hold two degrees: a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Games Development. My first book, Make Your Own Pixel Art, is available from all good book shops.

My Areas of Expertise

  • PC components and system building
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Software development
  • Storage technology
  • Video games and gaming hardware

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