Bezos’s wife could get €65bn split as they’ve no ‘prenup’
AMAZON founder Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie have no prenuptial agreement, which means their joint €131bn estate could be split down the middle – giving them €65bn each.
Speculation surrounding their surprise split and the division of their assets continues to mount as it emerged Jeff (54) has been in a relationship with former Fox TV host Lauren Sanchez (49).
It’s understood Ms Sanchez is in the process of divorcing her husband, Hollywood talent agent Patrick Whitesell.
Ms Sanchez and Mr Whitesell – who have two children together – are believed to have been friends of Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos for the last 10 years.
On Wednesday, Mr Bezos issued a statement from himself and his estranged wife announcing their intention to divorce after a “long period of loving exploration and trial separation”. “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,” they added in the statement.
The couple were last pictured together in September, with MacKenzie linking her husband’s arm as they attended the funeral of Senator John McCain in Washington DC.
Richest
Last year, Bezos was named the richest man in the world by ‘Forbes’, beating Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
After he announced his marriage split on Twitter, Amazon shares dipped slightly.
Sources close to the couple say there is no prenuptial agreement, and Jeff started dating Lauren Sanchez after he had split from MacKenzie.
It’s understood they began dating “in the latter half of 2018” and, according to reports in the US, their respective spouses knew about the relationship.
Bezos tweeted the message hours before US supermarket tabloid the ‘National Enquirer’ featured details of Bezos’s ‘affair’ on their front page along with pictures of him with Ms Sanchez.
MacKenzie married Jeff 25 years ago, prior to him becoming a millionaire.
They have four children together, and he has previously spoken of MacKenzie’s central role in helping him start Amazon from a garage in their home.
Sources say Bezos is describing his marriage split as “amicable”.
A full list of assets belonging to the couple is not available – but it’s understood they own 400,000 acres of land, making them the biggest landowners in the US.
Washington State, where the couple live, is a community property state. This means that all assets gained during the marriage are considered owned equally by both spouses unless there was a prenuptial agreement stating otherwise.