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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Wife MacKenzie Are Divorcing

48 points by tr33house 8y ago

Simon_says 8y ago
Hacker News should be above celebrity gossip. It should be nobody's business but their friends' and family's.
- danso 8y ago
  He publicly announced it, and besides being with him during the very beginning of Amazon, she’s his partner with the Day One Fund.
  - Simon_says 8y ago
    It's not a violation of privacy. It's just not relevant.
josefresco 8y ago
My first reaction: "Why is this even news?!?" Then after I RTFA... "The billionaire executive announced the news Wednesday ... in a tweet signed by both of them." Oh. Despite that, I'm not sure what there is for us at HN to discuss. Maybe how divorce effects successful businesses?
- danso 8y ago
  HN has plenty of threads about how relationships and other life factors affect work and business.
- babyslothzoo 8y ago
  > Despite that, I'm not sure what there is for us at HN to discuss. Maybe how divorce effects successful businesses? I hate the gossipy implications of these stories, and they're legitimately sad news, but there is plenty to discuss that is relevant to HN - How this could impact Amazon, Blue Origin, etc - How challenging relationships are - How difficult it is to stay together through major life changes, in this case they married before Amazon and are splitting now with Amazon being one of the worlds largest companies... imagine that journey together? - How divorce/breakups effect people - How relationships/divorce/breakups effect businesses, financial decisions etc
- Antoninus 8y ago
  I think thats it. We don't know how much or how many shares she owns.
ct0 8y ago
She may have to pay for a prime subscription now.
docker_up 8y ago
It's a bit TMZ to have this on HN, but the big tech question is what ownership stake does the ex-wife have on Amazon? Assuming they didn't have a pre-nup, does she get 50% of his stake in Amazon? Does she get a board seat? That could have deep implications for Amazon if for example she decides to sell that ownership stake and dilutes Jeff Bezos' control.
- mrep 8y ago
  I was wondering that too, but then I realized that would only have a big effect if stockholders thought he was doing a bad job and I bet most everyone doesn't think that.
  - docker_up 8y ago
    Not sure I follow. If his ownership stake is cut in half, and the ex-wife owns half of Bezos' stake in Amazon, that effectively cuts his power in half. Sure, right now they are likely on the same page, but what about in 5 years? What if she starts selling her stake or sells her decision-making stake to an activist hedge fund, for example, or someone directly adversarial to Bezos? It could make things a lot harder for him to lead the company.
- ltc5505 8y ago
  I think the opinion that the title is quite "gossipy" for HN is shared with a good portion of the community. I was entirely ready to just disregard the post after skimming the comments, but your point about splitting of assets is a great topic for discussion. What has happened historically when an executive gets divorced? Is this is the first high-profile tech company executive divorce?
- sorenjan 8y ago
  If that's how the system works, isn't that an incentive for the partner, the wife in this case, to divorce their spouse to get increased control? I don't know how much control she has at the moment being married to the person that actually owns the stocks, but if she gets 50% in a divorce that sounds like a financial jackpot. That's akin to state sponsored theft IMO.
xienze 8y ago
Say goodbye to that "wealthiest man in the world" title, Jeff.
ldargin 8y ago
You really can't buy love.
- centering 8y ago
  You can buy love until you get married and she wants her payday.
  - bradenb 8y ago
    They've been married 25 years, well before Amazon became the huge success it is today. Saying she got married for a payday is terribly disingenuous.
    - ldargin 8y ago
      Agreed. That's why I think this is probably a mistake.
judge2020 8y ago
Most of the time I'm fine with AMP links, but this one is awful. Non-amp: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/09/jeff-bezos-and-wife-mackenzie-are-divorcing-.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/09/jeff-bezos-and-wife-mackenzi...
elephantum 8y ago
Is it possible that they foresee problems with Amazon valuation and this a way to save half of the assets they have? Whether it's true will depend on what his wife is about to do with the shares.
pastor_elm 8y ago
flagged! let's keep hacker news an ivory tower, ok?
- tr33house 8y ago
  I still think that this is of interest to hackers around the world. I'll take it down if you convince me otherwise since it's of a personal nature
throw7 8y ago
egos burning brighter than the sun. gross.
babyslothzoo 8y ago
I find this to be sad news, divorce is typically devastating for everyone involved. Finding a life partner is incredibly difficult, someone with shared values that you can trust for life and with your life.
godelmachine 8y ago
Don’t know how the elite folks on HN will take it but this was first reported by TMZ!
nsx147 8y ago
Why flag this post? It is relevant. When Tiger woods got divorced his golf game spiraled downward. To say this will have absolutely zero impact on Amazon is naive. There are ownership issues that are worth billions to sort out.

48 points by tr33house 8y ago

Simon_says 8y ago

Hacker News should be above celebrity gossip. It should be nobody's business but their friends' and family's.

danso 8y ago
He publicly announced it, and besides being with him during the very beginning of Amazon, she’s his partner with the Day One Fund.
- Simon_says 8y ago
  It's not a violation of privacy. It's just not relevant.

josefresco 8y ago

My first reaction: "Why is this even news?!?" Then after I RTFA... "The billionaire executive announced the news Wednesday ... in a tweet signed by both of them." Oh. Despite that, I'm not sure what there is for us at HN to discuss. Maybe how divorce effects successful businesses?

danso 8y ago
HN has plenty of threads about how relationships and other life factors affect work and business.
babyslothzoo 8y ago
> Despite that, I'm not sure what there is for us at HN to discuss. Maybe how divorce effects successful businesses? I hate the gossipy implications of these stories, and they're legitimately sad news, but there is plenty to discuss that is relevant to HN - How this could impact Amazon, Blue Origin, etc - How challenging relationships are - How difficult it is to stay together through major life changes, in this case they married before Amazon and are splitting now with Amazon being one of the worlds largest companies... imagine that journey together? - How divorce/breakups effect people - How relationships/divorce/breakups effect businesses, financial decisions etc
Antoninus 8y ago
I think thats it. We don't know how much or how many shares she owns.

ct0 8y ago

She may have to pay for a prime subscription now.

docker_up 8y ago

It's a bit TMZ to have this on HN, but the big tech question is what ownership stake does the ex-wife have on Amazon? Assuming they didn't have a pre-nup, does she get 50% of his stake in Amazon? Does she get a board seat? That could have deep implications for Amazon if for example she decides to sell that ownership stake and dilutes Jeff Bezos' control.

mrep 8y ago
I was wondering that too, but then I realized that would only have a big effect if stockholders thought he was doing a bad job and I bet most everyone doesn't think that.
- docker_up 8y ago
  Not sure I follow. If his ownership stake is cut in half, and the ex-wife owns half of Bezos' stake in Amazon, that effectively cuts his power in half. Sure, right now they are likely on the same page, but what about in 5 years? What if she starts selling her stake or sells her decision-making stake to an activist hedge fund, for example, or someone directly adversarial to Bezos? It could make things a lot harder for him to lead the company.
ltc5505 8y ago
I think the opinion that the title is quite "gossipy" for HN is shared with a good portion of the community. I was entirely ready to just disregard the post after skimming the comments, but your point about splitting of assets is a great topic for discussion. What has happened historically when an executive gets divorced? Is this is the first high-profile tech company executive divorce?
sorenjan 8y ago
If that's how the system works, isn't that an incentive for the partner, the wife in this case, to divorce their spouse to get increased control? I don't know how much control she has at the moment being married to the person that actually owns the stocks, but if she gets 50% in a divorce that sounds like a financial jackpot. That's akin to state sponsored theft IMO.

xienze 8y ago

Say goodbye to that "wealthiest man in the world" title, Jeff.

ldargin 8y ago

You really can't buy love.

centering 8y ago
You can buy love until you get married and she wants her payday.
- bradenb 8y ago
  They've been married 25 years, well before Amazon became the huge success it is today. Saying she got married for a payday is terribly disingenuous.
  - ldargin 8y ago
    Agreed. That's why I think this is probably a mistake.

judge2020 8y ago

Most of the time I'm fine with AMP links, but this one is awful. Non-amp: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/09/jeff-bezos-and-wife-mackenzie-are-divorcing-.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/09/jeff-bezos-and-wife-mackenzi...

elephantum 8y ago

Is it possible that they foresee problems with Amazon valuation and this a way to save half of the assets they have? Whether it's true will depend on what his wife is about to do with the shares.

pastor_elm 8y ago

flagged! let's keep hacker news an ivory tower, ok?

tr33house 8y ago
I still think that this is of interest to hackers around the world. I'll take it down if you convince me otherwise since it's of a personal nature

throw7 8y ago

egos burning brighter than the sun. gross.

babyslothzoo 8y ago

I find this to be sad news, divorce is typically devastating for everyone involved. Finding a life partner is incredibly difficult, someone with shared values that you can trust for life and with your life.

godelmachine 8y ago

Don’t know how the elite folks on HN will take it but this was first reported by TMZ!

nsx147 8y ago

Why flag this post? It is relevant. When Tiger woods got divorced his golf game spiraled downward. To say this will have absolutely zero impact on Amazon is naive. There are ownership issues that are worth billions to sort out.