The most expensive divorce ever still makes Jeff Bezos the richest person ever.
Although he gave-up 25 percent of his Amazon shares to his ex-wife MacKenzie as part of their divorce settlement, Jeff Bezos remains the richest person on the planet -- but only just -- despite yielding $35.6 billion in Amazon stock to his ex-wife.
Amazon's founder will see his $131 billion net worth in 2018 (according to Forbes) dwindle to "only" $107.4 billion today. Bezos' 75 percent stake is equivalent 59.1 million shares in Amazon. Based on current market prices, Bezos' post-divorce revised stake in Amazon is worth some $107.4 billion.
That's about $10 billion larger than the wealth of $96.5 billion held by the world's second richest person, Bill Gates. But more important to Bezos is he gets to exercise the voting rights commanded by his stake and that of his ex-wife. She gave him that right, for whatever reason, and we can only assume their marriage of 25 years had some non-monetary dividends -- such as a lasting friendship.
MacKenzie's 25 percent stake in Amazon will give her a net worth of about $35.7 billion at Amazon's current stock price. This pot of gold will make MacKenzie the fourth richest woman in the world. Ahead of her in this august company are Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of L'Oreal, Alice Walton of Walmart and Jacqueline Mars of Mars Inc.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), MacKenzie will retain shares representing about 4 percent of Amazon's outstanding common stock. Her holdings will make her the third-biggest Amazon shareholder outside her ex-husband and Vanguard Funds owned by fellow billionaire Warren Buffet.
Amazon stock is presently trading at $1,813.02, making the ex-couple's combined stock worth $143 billion. And it goes without saying that Jeff and MacKenzie are also the richest "exes" in the world.
"I'm grateful for her support and for her kindness in this process and am very much looking forward to our new relationship as friends and co-parents," tweeted Jeff.
The ex-couple will now have to divvy-up their extensive real-estate holdings. In 2016, the Bezos's were the country's 28th largest landowner. They have properties in Medina, Washington; Van Horn, Texas; Washington, DC, and Manhattan, New York. They also have two mansions in Beverly Hills, California.
