Biggest divorce settlement in history if there isn't a prenup, there doesn't appear to be. :-)
THE NEW YORK POST
Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie announce divorce — unclear if the couple has a prenuptial agreement
By 0 and Lia Eustachewich
Published: Jan 9, 2019 11:49 a.m. ET https://www.marketwatch.com/story/je...ent-2019-01-09
The Amazon founder and his wife are divorcing after 25 years of marriage.
Amazon AMZN, +0.47% CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, are divorcing after 25 years of marriage, the couple announced Wednesday.
“We want to make people aware of a development in our lives,” tweeted Bezos, the world’s richest person. “As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separate, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends.”
He continued: “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.”
The 54-year-old sits at the top of Forbes world’s billionaires ranking, with a real-time worth of $137.4 billion.
It’s unclear if the couple has a prenuptial agreement.
They reside in Washington state, which is a “community property state” — meaning divorcing couples without a prenup split assets 50-50, TMZ reported.
The Bezos own five homes in Medina, Washington, Beverly Hills, Van Horn, Texas, DC and Manhattan — making Jeff the 25th biggest landowner in the nation, Business Insider said.
The couple met in New York at hedge fund D.E. Shaw when Jeff, the company’s vice president, interviewed MacKenzie for a job, according to Business Insider.
MacKenzie, a Princeton graduate, landed the gig as a research associate and the two office neighbors fell in love — fast.
MacKenzie, who was 23 at the time and made the first move by asking Jeff out to lunch, was smitten.
“My office was next door to his, and all day long I listened to that fabulous laugh,” she recalled in a 2013 interview with Vogue. “How could you not fall in love with that laugh?”
Within three months, they were engaged and, three months later in 1993, they were hitched.
Jeff also gushed about his longtime love.
“I think my wife is resourceful, smart, brainy, and hot, but I had the good fortune of having seen her résumé before I met her, so I knew exactly what her SATs were,” he told Vogue.
In 1994, the newlyweds quit their Wall Street jobs and moved cross country to Seattle, where Jeff launched Amazon. He hired MacKenzie as an accountant — as one of the online bookstore’s first employees.
“To me, watching your spouse, somebody that you love, have an adventure — what is better than that?” MacKenzie told CBS.
The couple went on to have four children.
MacKenzie, 48, is an award-winning novelist who penned the “The Testing of Luther Albright” in 2005 and “Traps” eight years later.
At Princeton, where Jeff also attended, she studied under legendary author Toni Morrison, who told Vogue that she was “one of the best students” she ever had.
Last year, Jeff and MacKenzie launched the homeless charity Day One Fund together.
In his statement on Wednesday, he hinted that he and his soon-to-be ex-wife would continue working together.
“We’ve had such a great life together as a married couple, and we also see wonderful futures ahead, as parents, friends, partners in ventures and projects, and as individuals pursuing ventures and adventures,” Jeff wrote. “Though the labels might be different, we remain a family, and we remain cherished friends.” [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
My wife is a teacher. Most here know where we live. Teachers don’t get to live this lifestyle. It’s my salary but we did it together. I would never in a million years think that if something happens she doesn’t deserve 1/2 of everything. She has earned it as much as I have. Probably a lot more than me.
Right? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. [Reply]
Originally Posted by cooper barrett:
When I got divorced many of my assets were held in trusts that my ex fought like hell to get to but never was successful. I would bet that Bezo's assets are protected in some manner as well.
I see Ms. Bezo's being listed as one of the top 10 land owners in the near future...
They are also splitting amicably. That has to factor into it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
Why does her having kids have anything to do with Amazon and the company he built?
Hopefully someday these outdated marriage laws will cease to exist. In the old days, the male was the breadwinner and the female was not expected to work so it makes A LITTLE sense that the wife would get half. Times have changed. We are all equals. She has equal opportunity to make whatever money she can on her own, as a novelist. Which is apparently what she does for a living.
I think you're conflating two issues.
The splitting of assets for a family who grew a business together is not outdated.
I do agree that in general, a lot of divorce proceedings favor the woman unfairly, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. She wasn't a gold digger. She was with him for 25 years, well before he was a blip on anyone's radar. They had 4 kids together.
Plus, wasn't he the one cheating on her? But I can't find a source other than tabloids, and it seems like they've been separated for a long time too, so maybe it was during that period and not a big deal. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
My wife is a teacher. Most here know where we live. Teachers don’t get to live this lifestyle. It’s my salary but we did it together. I would never in a million years think that if something happens she doesn’t deserve 1/2 of everything. She has earned it as much as I have. Probably a lot more than me.
Exactly.
No way in hell I have 24 year career in art without the support of my wife. [Reply]
No way in hell I have 24 year career in art without the support of my wife.
Right? I mean, obviously something broke down in this relationship, and I have no idea who's fault it is. Probably both. But they built it together, and I'm sure that Amazon wouldn't be what it is without the support at home - even if that would have been more "free time" as someone else noted. Especially funny because Bezos could have been wasting his time on an NFL team forum but instead his wife kicked him in the pants. Who fucking knows. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
My wife is a teacher. Most here know where we live. Teachers don’t get to live this lifestyle. It’s my salary but we did it together. I would never in a million years think that if something happens she doesn’t deserve 1/2 of everything. She has earned it as much as I have. Probably a lot more than me.
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
My wife is a teacher. Most here know where we live. Teachers don’t get to live this lifestyle. It’s my salary but we did it together. I would never in a million years think that if something happens she doesn’t deserve 1/2 of everything. She has earned it as much as I have. Probably a lot more than me.
This is the first I've ever heard of a man making more money than his wife. Lottery winner, right there. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
Hopefully that's the case, but I'm not sure that I'd assume the public relations statements are accurate about that.
Amazon's legal or marketing department writes a nice we're breaking up memo.
I think she deserves half. He was a VP of a wall street firm and she was a stockbroker. They were pretty much set to be wealthy. She gave up her career as stockbroker and assumed just as much risk as her husband in the foray. She would have got half of the results if the business failed. [Reply]
Originally Posted by EyePod:
They are also splitting amicably. That has to factor into it.
Are you going to disclose the grounds for a divorce in a no-fault state? Why?
Why would you? It's not going to change the outcome. So he can make her look like the slut in case she had a boy toy or disclose that he was a customer of high dollar hooker? (who may be a boy toy too). Nobody wins by disclosing that she wouldn't take it up the butt or that he went somewhere where he could go there. Nobody wants to air their dirty laundry unless there is money or power to be gained. She may actually gain the upper hand discrediting Bezo's in the eyes of the board of directors.
She will get 50% and I would say she will be the one to allow her hubby to control Amazon or not. There may have to be a holding company which they own jointly to run Amazon or a 3rd party named as a tie breaker when they don't agree. She can also give up her voting rights to some of the stock by taking some addl real estate or other real assets.
3 houses in WA or maybe all 400,000 acres of land in Texas a DC house and the $25M apt in NY City. Maybe she will keep a few cars...
1. Ferrari Pininfarina Sergio - $3 million
2. Bugatti Veyron Mansory - $3.4 million
3. W Motors Lykan Hypersport $4 million
4. Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita - $4.8 million
5. Lamborghini Veneno - $5 million
And a jet or two...Gulfstream and a Dassault Falcon 900 EX for picking up newscaster girlfriends in VA....
In WA state it makes no difference to the courts if she takes $50B in Amazon stocks and gives them to homeless person along with voting rights. To Amazon stockholders and Jeff Bezo? Lets just say that they feel very strongly about it.
In the court's eyes, it makes no difference. It's between two teams of lawyers as to how they negotiate the separation of their assets and what property they exchange for power.
If Bezo's doesn't have several $B accounts, in some place far more obscure than the Caymen, where nobody will ever find them then I would be inclined to call her the brains behind Amazon. [Reply]
No way in hell I have 24 year career in art without the support of my wife.
I've been playing poker for the majority of my income for 6 years. If I didn't have a significant other in that time - I would have made at least 3x more. I'd have more time to study, learn strategies, and better myself to achieve my goals. I'd be able to play more & not have to watch TV and go to overpriced dinners as much. I'd eat healthier. I'd have more time to work out etc.
But that is the price I pay for not wanting to be lonely. In relationships, people typically GIVE UP careers & dreams instead of achieving them. In MOST cases marriage is a hindrance to achieving your professional goals and dreams. But FAMILY & PERSONAL well being trump money & employment goals - which is how it should be. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
My wife is a teacher. Most here know where we live. Teachers don’t get to live this lifestyle. It’s my salary but we did it together. I would never in a million years think that if something happens she doesn’t deserve 1/2 of everything. She has earned it as much as I have. Probably a lot more than me.
h
Totally agree. My wife has started two businesses. I've founded a school. All while we were raising two kids. The process, for many (such as us), is a partnership, even if one person is truly the one who founds the business. My wife helped me with my school's design and social media. I helped her with her tech, construction, and maintenance needs when she was in startup. It's totally been a partnership (and an awesome learning experience which has benefitted both of us). We're pretty successful, but that success is due to a partnership. Jeff's wife deserves half. It's not like she's some gold digger that came along late in the game and hitched herself to a star in the sky. She was there for the comeup and likely made fundamental contributions to the growth of Amazon. [Reply]
