World’s richest man, world’s most expensive divorce?
eff Bezos, the world’s richest man, with a net worth of $139 billion, announced his divorce on Twitter on Thursday. The full statement left me awed. It was an ode to being civilised — even though we do know that each time a couple chooses to announce splitsville via a carefully-worded announcement to the media, they are grandstanding in the stakes of good manners.
But have a look at what Bezos and his wife MacKenzie (jointly) had to say: “We want to make people aware of a development in our lives. As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends. 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. We’ve had such a great life together as a married couple, and we also see wonderful futures ahead, as parents, friends, partners and ventures and projects, and as individuals pursuing ventures and adventures. Though the labels might be different, we remain a family, and we remain cherished friends.”
This actually made me wonder why they were divorcing in the first place… If they feel so “incredibly lucky” and “deeply grateful” for their union, surely nothing can stop their march of togetherness? But whatever, full marks for civility.
Or so I thought.
That was before the real news came shining through. Bezos (and his wife) had engineered a preemptive strike: word on the street is that American gossip tabloid has its hands on a portfolio of incriminating photographs which showcases the world’s richest man’s extra-marital affair with one Carla Sanchez. According to businessinsider.com, the tabloid claims it tracked Bezos and “secret lover Sanchez across five states, tailed them in private jets, swanky limos, helicopter rides, romantic hikes, five-star hotel hideaways, intimate dinner dates and ‘quality time’ in hidden love nests”, and is now primed to publish the scoop of the year.
Sanchez, a former TV anchor, is still married to a Hollywood agent.
So, will the pre-emptive tweet manage to do damage control — and stop tongues wagging? Don’t think so.
The bone of contention will obviously not be the morality of the matter. Many will wonder: did both spouses know about the ‘covert’ affair, and chose not to make a big deal about it? Or, has the divorce been fast-tracked because of the brand of investigative journalism? But the biggest talking point will be how it’s going to be the world’s most expensive divorce ever (American-French businessman Alec Wildenstein holds the record for costliest divorce ever: when he left his first wife Jocelyn, the payout was to the tune of $3.8 billion — $5.7 billion by today’s calculation, after adjusting inflation).
World’s richest man, world’s most expensive divorce — it’s like morning follows the night.
Since all of Bezos’ fortune was accumulated while he was married to MacKenzie, she (most likely) stands to gain half of it. MacKenzie Bezos is highpowered herself. She’s a well-known novelist, and founder of the anti-bullying organisation Bystander Revolution — but nobody believes she’s going to kiss away staggering billions just because she’s her own person.
How’s all this going to impact Amazon’s future prospects — other than altering Bezos’ personal standing forever?
Expectedly, the media is in a tizzy.
The other interesting nugget I stumbled upon is that Jeff Bezos, 54 (he turns 55 tomorrow), is leaving his wife MacKenzie, 48, for a woman older than her; Lauren Sanchez is 49. We have this impression that rich men (Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch etc), when they leave their (old or middle-aged) wives, go for much younger women. Not in Bezos’s case.
Right in the wake of (French author) Yann Moix making a statement that women in the region of 50 are “too old to be loved”, I have to say this is quite the poetic justice!
MacKenzie Bezos is high-powered herself. But nobody believes she’s going to kiss away staggering billions just because she’s her own person