Mubasher: Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest man, has announced that he would divorce his wife of 25 years MacKenzie Bezos.
“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 a joint statement via Twitter on Wednesday.
“If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again,” they added.
It remains unclear whether Bezos and his wife, a novelist and philanthropist, had a prenuptial agreement when they were married in 1993. In the event that they did not make prenuptial agreement, given that it was not a popular instrument in the early 1990s, MacKenzie Bezos could be entitled to as much as 50% of her spouse’s assets, which recently hit the $137 billion mark.
Women are often entitled to funds beyond their husband’s assets, including child support and alimony, according to Business Insider.
The Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index as well as a Forbes list recently put Jeff Bezos’ net worth at $137 billion, making him the richest man in the world. Bezos’ stock holdings have leapt over recent quarters, particularly after the price of Amazon’s shares surged by over 30% since last year.
Jeff Bezos’ outstanding stock holdings in Amazon as from February 2017 are estimated at 17% or 81 million shares of the company, of which 1 million shares were sold nine months later.
With 80 million shares in his portfolio at approximately $1,650 a share, Jeff Bezos’ wealth amounts to around $132 billion.
This means that MacKenzie Bezos could receive more than $60 billion in Amazon’s stock alone.
The question that the e-commerce giant’s shareholders will raise in the upcoming months is whether MacKenzie will liquidate her shares. Under the divorce settlement, MacKenzie may own from 20 to 40 million outstanding Amazon shares, placing her in charge of around 8% of the company’s stocks.
If MacKenzie dumps her holdings, the stock could take a corresponding dive of more than $100 per share.
Moreover, the fact that a non-board member owns a major stake of the company might affect the stock.
