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With $137B at Stake, Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos to Divorce
- refurb 8y agoI'm not sure the money is really at stake. They were married when Amazon was just a tiny start-up and Washington is a community property state. Half of all assets gained during the marriage belong to his wife. The only way it could be less is if she agreed to take something less.
- callumprentice 8y agoIf that's the case, I guess his wife will make an entry into the top 10 wealthiest people in the world. I hope the loss of 50% of his net worth doesn't detract from his space faring aspirations or considerable charitable donations (although I don't remember if he is one of the immensely wealthy people who vowed to give most of it away).
- chrisco255 8y agoDoesn't your statement contradict itself?
- dogma1138 8y agoI think the problem here is the impact on the company itself it would give her a huge stake in the company who she does not have now. I wonder if there will be some sort of a buyout offered.
- xiphias2 8y agoWhy wouldn't she be ok with less money? Money over $10 million is just about power, you have all your needs met. She can get significantly more of course (probably few billions of dollars, why not?), but I don't think she cares about it that much. As MacKenzie went into the background when she wasn't needed anymore (which is not true for power hungry people), she doesn't look like the power hungry person.
- perfmode 8y agoWith $10M she probably wouldn’t be able to afford the upkeep of the house in which she presently lives. Or upkeep of her jet.
- refurb 8y agoIf someone said you could have $10M or $1B, you’re entitled to either, which one would you choose?
- xiphias2 8y agoI like power, but I wouldn't go to background if I would be an Amazon cofounder.
- vibrato 8y agoAnd what is money under $10 million about? You’re projecting your values so hard
- 8y ago
- malmsteen 8y agoHis life is going to be so f wild after the divorce XD
- pike1 8y agoWhy does this insane split seem unfair even though it might be legal? In this day and age, if 2 adults divorce and as long as there are not any special circumstances, why should one be entitled to half of another spouse's wealth? I understand that these laws came when women had no agency and no education but surely we don't need these laws now? If feminism were anything but self servin and geniune, why are there no calls to make divorce laws more reasonable?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- so_tired 8y agoWhat if getting a divorce is the only way a tech founder can lose control of his company? (e.g. facebook, etc) What if u r a billionaire, and pledged to give away half your money to charity, then get divorced, and end up with nothing? These are very pressing issues.
- perfmode 8y agoA pledge is not a legally binding contract afaik.
- cloisterer 8y agoGood thing I’m not Jeff Bezos. But then again, maybe he’s well insulated, such that her bank heist fails, and retires into obscurity with pocket change or less.
- dahdum 8y agoHer bank heist? She was there from the beginning, over 25 years ago. She didn’t just marry a billionaire. As long as Amazon remains stable I think their agreement, while it would be interesting, is none of my business.
- daxorid 8y agoWhat is the moral (not legal - obviously she's entitled legally) justification that simply "being there" from the beginning entitles one to half of the fruits of a person's labor?
- gumby 8y agoThat's quite a naive view of marriage. I know every marriage is unique, but still, it's almost never simply "being there".
- gumby 8y agoHaving got through a divorce (though in California) I don't see how this need make a huge difference to AMZN. The division of assets is not a taxable event, so no big stock sales. She could sign a voting rights agmt to vote her shares always with her ex husband's -- this could remove any "change of control" issues that would reduce the value of the company, and if they agree are going to continue as friends this would likely be no big deal. In other words, a private matter and likely not "news" in the sense of implying some shift in the tech sector.
- samfisher83 8y agoIf she gets half does the entire amount become taxable immediately? I am sure Uncle Sam would love 6+ billion dollar return.
- sdinsn 8y agoNo. She is taking half of the assets that are already hers (shared with Jeff).