MacKenzie Bezos, the wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, is likely to become the world’s richest woman when the couple officially divorces after 25 years of marriage, according to legal experts.
Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, aged 54 and 48 respectively, on Wednesday publicly announced their separation. The next step for the pair, if they haven’t already begun the process, will be splitting the tech executive’s estimated $137 billion fortune. However, a difficult matter is further complicated by reports the duo, who married in 1993 after only six months of dating, do not have a prenuptial agreement.
Washington — where Amazon is incorporated and it is widely speculated the parents of four will file their divorce paperwork — is known as a “community property state.” That means any assets or debt accumulated by a couple during their marriage is shared in a “just and equitable” manner. For the Bezos family, that includes Amazon, which Jeff Bezos founded in 1994 with the help of his soon-to-be ex-wife.
“Although there may well be factors we just do not know about that could affect the decision making, there’s a good possibility that each will end up with property valued at roughly 50 percent of the total estate,” Mark Weiss, a Washington state-based family law attorney and mediator, told the Washington Examiner on Thursday via email. “They will also likely remain business partners together in several investments/business ventures.”
An Amazon spokesperson didn’t immediately reply to request for comment.
An approximately equal division of the family’s wealth would leave MacKenzie Bezos with $68.5 billion. That catapults the novelist to the top of the richest women list, according to Forbes. In 2018, the magazine gave Alice Walton, the 69-year-old Walmart heiress, the honor with $46 billion. It would additionally result in Jeff Bezos dropping from the No. 1 spot in the annual rankings.
But Weiss cautioned that the pair’s extreme affluence may force them to get “creative” with their divorce arrangement, particularly because Washington — unlike California — doesn’t insist on a 50-50 redistribution.
Rick Jones, founder and managing partner of Goldberg Jones, and Janet George of McKinley Irvin Family Law agreed.
“The problem is if he sells or turns over half his stock, he will dilute his control over Amazon and the stock price value of both their holdings will be reduced,” Jones said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “She will get hers, but she also needs to preserve her asset value so she can get a return on her investments.”
Jones predicted the couple would “by far” have one of the most expensive divorces in U.S. history, which will include their extensive real estate portfolio and any cash on hand they may have.
“This will blow divorces like Steve Wynn’s of $1 billion out of the water,” he said of the casino magnate’s second split with ex-wife Elaine in 2010.
George added, however, that if the Bezos family ends up in court, the Washington legal system protects companies where it can.
“I don’t expect them to go to trial,” George said, citing the 1997 separation of Greg McCaw of McCaw Cellular from then-wife Wendy in the state. “There are so many options they can presumably agree to before a trial. Facts are going to evolve each day.”
