World's Richest Couple, Amazon CEO and Wife Announce Divorce

Yesterday afternoon (09/01), the richest couple in the world, formed by the billionaire Jeff Bezos (54) and wife MacKenzie (48), announced their divorce after 25 years of marriage. According to the official statement, the pair went through a temporary period of separation and decided to end their relationship for good. The Bezos have 4 children and will continue to be friends and business partners.

The couple met working for the same investment fund company in New York and married in 1993. Bezos was the first person to interview MacKenzie when she applied for a position at the company and they both occupied neighboring offices in the building.

MacKenzie is a writer, graduated from Princeton University, and has worked at Amazon since the creation of what would become the most valuable company on the planet, including negotiating the nascent online store's first shipping contract.

His wife's support was instrumental in Jeff leaving the financial market in New York for Seattle and founding the e-commerce giant. As an author, she wrote The Testing of Luther Albright, for which she won an American Book Award in 2006. MacKenzie also founded and serves as director of the anti-bullying NGO Bystander Revolution.

Jeff Bezos founded the digital book store Amazon.com in 1994 and became the richest man in the world in 2017, when it surpassed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his wealth is valued at 137 billions of dollars. He currently holds 16% of the company's shares. Jeff also owns the influential American newspaper Washington Post and the space transport company Blue Origin.

richest man in the world

The law of the US state of Washington, where the couple lives, requires that assets acquired during the marriage are divided equally between the parties in the event of divorce, unless there is a prenuptial agreement.

It's unclear if the Bezos have any sort of deal, but if the fortune is split in half, MacKenzie will become the richest woman in the world with a net worth valued at 69 billion dollars, while Bezos would lose the title of richest man in the world and fall to the 5th position in the index of Bloomberg.

Sources: People, Bloomberg, CNBC, The Guardian, Twitter