In this March 2018 photo, Jeff Bezos and wife, MacKenzie Bezos, arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California. The couple announced Thursday that they have finalized their divorce, ending a 25-year marriage that played a role in the creation of the online shopping giant. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

In this March 2018 photo, Jeff Bezos and wife, MacKenzie Bezos, arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California. The couple announced Thursday that they have finalized their divorce, ending a 25-year marriage that played a role in the creation of the online shopping giant. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Jeff Bezos, in divorce settlement, retains 75 percent of the Amazon stock

That settles the matter of corporate governance affecting one of the world’s richest companies.

By Joseph Pisani / Associated Press

NEW YORK — Amazon said Thursday that founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has finalized his divorce with wife MacKenzie, who will end up with a stake in the online shopping giant worth more than $35 billion.

In a tweet, MacKenzie Bezos said she is giving Jeff Bezos all her interest in The Washington Post, the newspaper that he bought in 2013, and Blue Origin, the space exploration company he founded.

“I’m grateful for her support and for her kindness in this process,” Jeff Bezos said in a tweet Thursday. “And am very much looking forward to our new relationship as friends and co-parents.”

The Bezoses, who have four children, first announced they were divorcing in January, just before the National Enquirer published a story that said Jeff Bezos was having an affair with a former TV host. He later accused the tabloid’s publisher of threatening to publish explicit photos of him unless he stopped investigating how the Enquirer obtained private messages between himself and his lover.

When the divorce is complete, which is expected to happen in about 90 days, MacKenzie Bezos will have a 4% stake in Amazon. Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s richest people, will have a 12% stake in the company, valued at more than $108 billion on Thursday.

He’ll be Amazon’s largest shareholder, and he’ll also keep voting control of MacKenzie Bezos’s shares, according to a filling with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The divorce ends a 25-year marriage that played a role in creating one of the world’s most valuable companies.

The Bezoses met in New York in the early 1990s while working at a hedge fund. They married just six months after they began dating, Jeff Bezos has said.

Not long after that, he quit his job to start an online bookstore and the Bezoses took a cross-country road trip to Seattle, which was chosen for its high number of technology workers. While his wife did the driving, Jeff Bezos wrote a business plan. By 1995, Amazon was operating out of a garage, with MacKenzie Bezos helping out.

Amazon has grown way beyond those humble beginnings. It now produces movies, runs the Whole Foods grocery chain and has become the leader in voice-activated speakers. The company has become so large that it plans to build a second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

MacKenzie Bezos, a novelist, said in a tweet Thursday that she was “excited” about her future plans, but didn’t say what they were.

“Grateful for the past as I look forward to what comes next,” she said in the tweet.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A standard jet fuel, left, burns with extensive smoke output while a 50 percent SAF drop-in jet fuel, right, puts off less smoke during a demonstration of the difference in fuel emissions on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sustainable aviation fuel center gets funding boost

A planned research and development center focused on sustainable aviation… Continue reading

FILE — Jet fuselages at Boeing’s fabrication site in Everett, Wash., Sept. 28, 2022. Some recently manufactured Boeing and Airbus jets have components made from titanium that was sold using fake documentation verifying the material’s authenticity, according to a supplier for the plane makers. (Jovelle Tamayo/The New York Times)
Boeing adding new space in Everett despite worker reduction

Boeing is expanding the amount of space it occupies in… Continue reading

Paul Roberts makes a speech after winning the Chair’s Legacy Award on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Paul Roberts: An advocate for environmental causes

Roberts is the winner of the newly established Chair’s Legacy Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Laaysa Chintamani speaks after winning on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Laasya Chintamani: ‘I always loved science and wanted to help people’

Chintamani is the recipient of the Washington STEM Rising Star Award.

Dave Somers makes a speech after winning the Henry M. Jackson Award on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County Executive Dave Somers: ‘It’s working together’

Somers is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mel Sheldon makes a speech after winning the Elson S. Floyd Award on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mel Sheldon: Coming up big for the Tulalip Tribes

Mel Sheldon is the winner of the Elson S. Floyd Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County

Craig Skotdal makes a speech after winning on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Craig Skotdal: Helping to breathe life into downtown Everett

Skotdal is the recipient of the John M. Fluke Sr. award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County

Katie Wallace, left, checks people into the first flight from Paine Field to Honolulu on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Executive order makes way for Paine Field expansion planning

Expansion would be a long-range project estimated to cost around $300 million.

Dick’s Drive-In announces opening date for new Everett location

The new drive-in will be the first-ever for Everett and the second in Snohomish County.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

The Coastal Community Bank branch in Woodinville. (Contributed photo)
Top banks serving Snohomish County with excellence

A closer look at three financial institutions known for trust, service, and stability.

Image from Erickson Furniture website
From couch to coffee table — Local favorites await

Style your space with the county’s top picks for furniture and flair.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.