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Jeff Bezos to keep 75 percent of couple’s Amazon stock after finalizing divorce
- mark_l_watson 8y agoWell first of all: my respect to any divorcing/divorced couples to maintain a cooperative and respectful relationship. That said, to maximize the value of the few percent of Amazon stock that she now owns, giving voting rights to Jeff Bezos is a good move.
- mindcrime 8y agoObviously a lot of details have not been made public, but as high-profile / high-stakes divorces go, this all seems remarkably amicable. At least based on what's been reported publicly.
- Aloha 8y agoIt appears they just grew apart, rather than a surprise to either party.
- cjbprime 8y agoWait, wasn't the surprise that either the Saudis (reportedly) hacked his phone (or maybe her brother found them), found out that he was having an affair, sent the sexts to the National Enquirer who reported on them, making the affair's existence known to her?
- simonh 8y agoNo, they were already separated.
- magic_beans 8y ago"Grew apart" Is that code for "Bezos had an affair"
- paxys 8y agoIs it an affair if you are already separated?
- ceejayoz 8y agoIn some states, yes. https://info.legalzoom.com/can-married-men-legally-separated-date-committing-adultery-21168.html https://info.legalzoom.com/can-married-men-legally-separated... > In some states, adultery is a crime, although it is rarely prosecuted. In states that still recognize fault-based divorces, adultery has more of an impact. If a man begins dating during a legal separation in one of these states, and if his wife can prove that the relationship is sexual in nature, she can usually file for divorce on grounds of adultery. This can affect issues of property distribution and alimony. However, some states, such as North Carolina, make a legal distinction between dating during separation and dating while living together as man and wife.
- dpark 8y ago“Affair” is not a legal term in any US state so far as I’m aware.
- ceejayoz 8y agoAdultery is, though. Which an affair is likely to include, and this one apparently did.
- dpark 8y agoBezos lives in Washington. Adultery is not a crime in Washington nor is it recognized as relevant in divorce proceedings. i.e. Washington is a “no fault” state. Caveat: I’m not a lawyer.
- ceejayoz 8y agoHence, "in some states". It's entirely possible some form of pre/post-nuptial agreement exists, as well.
- ancorevard 8y ago"grew apart" is a not how reality works. A relationship by nature "disintegrates" if you don't work hard to sustain it. But you are right that no one should be surprised, the outcome is as predictable as gravity and is bound by the same natural laws.
- dvtrn 8y ago"grew apart" is a not how reality works. A relationship by nature "disintegrates" if you don't work hard to sustain it. This seems incredibly narrow-minded, it is 100% possible for a couple to realize their dynamic as two people just doesn't work as well in a romantic relationship as it does platonically, and if both parties are emotionally mature enough with it, they can absolutely part ways and still maintain a healthy ordinary friendship post courting. Asserting that such a phenomenon isn't "how reality works" seems like a weird projection of whatever personal expectations and hang-ups you have about how relationships work.
- zaroth 8y agoAn ideal can be aspired to, while the reality for the vast majority of couples can still be quite messy. More importantly, please state your disagreeing opinion without the condescending personal attack smacked on.
- dvtrn 8y agoIt absolutely "can" be but that's wholly separate from making an declarative statement about what reality "is" for people who chose to terminate their romantic relationships or why. And sorry if you feel that was a "personal attack" because I posited that such an arbitrary and unsubstantiated declaration about the reality of relationships might be coming from a mindset that doesn't give attention to the nuances and idiosyncrasies of relationships or the decisions individuals make in them.
- ancorevard 8y ago"Growing apart" is not something that _happens_ to an intimate relationship such as a marriage, it is the natural consequence of the priorities of the two individuals involved. To stay intimate with another requires an enormous amount of investment of both parties. So yes, growing apart does take place, but it is the effect not the cause.
- 14 8y agoIt is fun to have power I am sure, and the money that comes with it, but this guy has so much money I honestly think it just doesn't matter to him any more. Time to just enjoy his life. And that can be done with half the billions he has. Best of luck to him and her.
- jliptzin 8y agoThe difference in lifestyle between 5 million and 10 million is pretty noticeable. Between 50 billion and 100 billion, no difference whatsoever.
- Ntrails 8y agoI dont know... Managing 100b for investment is significantly more effort than managing 50b. It is just so much money to put places
- khazhou 8y ago> Time to just enjoy his life. And that can be done with half the billions he has Post-divorce he'll have $112 billion. So, yes.
- return0 8y ago> seems remarkably amicable smart for both parties' stock
- onetimemanytime 8y agoI guess she's made pace with the cheating fact. It happens. After that, at that level you must be vindictive (and dumb) to drag the name /reputation through the mud of a divorce court. She's about 50 and can spend about $1 Billion a year. Or hundreds of millions a year forever to be conservative...what more do you want, money wise?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- username223 8y agoHer share of Amazon is still worth $35.6 billion, making her something like the #25 richest person in the world. It seems reasonable, but my intuition sucks when it comes to money piles that big. She could start her own rocket company, with enough left over to buy an Elon Musk (#41).
- ralusek 8y agoIt's reasonable that someone can forcibly extract 35 billion dollars for being married to someone?
- mcphage 8y agoExtract from who? It was theirs, and now some is his, and some is hers.
- username223 8y ago"Forcibly extract?" They were married for over 25 years, since long before he was a gazillionaire, so it hardly seems like gold-digging. Also, Jeff still has more or less infinite money.
- differentView 8y agoIt's funny how these richest people lists calculate people's worth. When Jeff Bezos and his wife were together, all of their assets were considered his alone.
- username223 8y agoThat is sort of messed up now that I think about it. I didn't even know if Warren Buffett was married, though I sort of assumed he had married his high school sweetheart 50 years ago. It turns out I wasn't so far off, though Susan Buffett owned a well-defined share of Berkshire Hathaway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Buffett https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Buffett
- whoisjuan 8y agoJust for perspective. This makes her the third wealthiest female in the world and not very far from the first place which is held by Françoise Bettencourt (L'Oreal) whose net worth is 46 billion.
- jedberg 8y ago> MacKenzie said she was "happy" to be giving Jeff 75 percent of their stock in Amazon along with voting control of her shares. She also left Jeff with all of her interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' aerospace company, according to the statement. This makes a lot of sense. They probably both realize that the stock could be worth significantly less if he didn't maintain control of all three companies, given that the market was already reacting to that possible outcome. > Jeff remains the richest man in the world, even after losing $35.6 billion in Amazon stock. I wonder if part of this settlement was because he actually cares about being the richest person in the world and she was kind enough to make sure he stays that way?
- e40 8y agoI wonder if part of this settlement was because he actually cares about being the richest person in the world and she was kind enough to make sure he stays that way? I think you already answered it. I think she's smart enough to know the value of what she has will be more certain if Jeff has control. And she's also smart enough to know that $35B is way more than she could ever spend/use/invest/whatever.
- pastor_elm 8y agoI'm sure she cares about her own legacy and wants to make a name for herself like Melinda Gates, Priscilla Chan, and Laurene Powell Jobs. Obviously would be more difficult if Jeff drags her through the mud.
- whoisjuan 8y ago> I wonder if part of this settlement was because he actually cares about being the richest person in the world and she was kind enough to make sure he stays that way? I doubt it. What is he getting from that title, at all? His already obnoxiously rich. He is totally willing to divest just to put money into risky bets like Blue Origin. He even bought a newspaper, in what I believe was a personal move to deeply understand the role of press in society development and policy making (because all other reasons are stupid, as already proven by the multiple issues that have originiated from his association with WaPo). I think he has a goal that goes beyond being the richest person in the world or at least it doesn't depend on that. His personal bets under a investment light are the oppostie of trying be the richest person in the world. I suspect that's not his goal.
- netwanderer3 8y agoI always believe in 50/50 but i think she did the right things here because Jeff Bezos = Amazon. There comes a point in which having more money just does not make any slightest difference.
- dpark 8y agoYou “always believe in 50/50” but “she did the right things here”? This are fundamentally inconsistent viewpoints.
- oaiey 8y agoI do not think so. It is "super rich" and "super rich". Sounds like everyone got the same. When you are in their position, it is more important to be fair to each other, which is then the 50:50.
- dpark 8y agoSo not “50/50”....
- nickelcitymario 8y agoNot necessarily. I think this poster is saying she's entitled to 50%, but it's a wise move on her part to accept 25% instead. If that's what they meant, those are not inconsistent viewpoints.
- dpark 8y agoThe comment was that she did the “right” thing, not the “smart” thing. If 50/50 is the “right thing” then 75/25 is by definition not the “right thing”.
- netwanderer3 8y agoIn normal circumstances which applied to most public population, a 50/50 split of shares is fair. But Jeff Bezos doesn't belong to a normally distributed population, his is an outlier case statistically, with Amazon being an extremely important asset that not only affects their personal lives, but also has enormous impacts and responsibility to the public. Jeff Bezo's personality and leadership are crucial for the organization. You can't apply the same principles to his case vs. the majority of public. The key to being effective is the ability to recognize the differences in special circumstances, and knowing how to be flexible so you can adapt to those situations. I can tell it's not easy for most people. One of the biggest problems today is most people only perceive the world as either black or white, and there are no "in-between", or "grey-zones", or "outliers". But the real world in our lives has never worked like that. This viewpoint is producing a lot of narcissists and their "you are either with me or against me" attitude, which subsequently contributing to a lot of hatreds around us. Emotionally intelligent people are the ones who truly understand the meaning of the word "compromise", in order to produce a win-win result. That's what separates them from the rest.
- xkmalloc 8y ago"MacKenzie said she was “happy” to be giving Jeff 75 percent of their stock in Amazon along with voting control of her shares." How generous of her. Never marry...
- benjohnson 8y agoMy life's joy: I married well to have a stable household to raise competent and inquisitive children.
- mikeyouse 8y agoNot to mention, she married him in 1993 -- before Amazon existed and they had met when she was a research associate at the hedge fund that they both worked at. She graduated from a very prestigious prep school and then with highest honors from Princeton. She was there for every step of the Amazon journey and would have been successful on her own.
- adventured 8y agoAccording to Bloomberg MacKenzie Bezos becomes the fourth richest woman in the world via the Amazon position, worth ~$35.75 billion, and the 25th richest person overall. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, whose mother owned 1/3 of L'Oreal until her death a few years ago, is the richest woman in the world ($53.6b). After that is Jacqueline Mars (Mars candy empire) and Alice Walton (Walmart heir). MacKenzie is only 48 years old, it'll be interesting to see what she pursues with her time and money.
- sketchyj 8y agoUp here in the PNW I see tons of people every day living out of tents or cars. This guy loses tens of billions of dollars and remains the wealthiest person in the world. Tax billionaires out of existence.
- kgwxd 8y agoWho cares? This has no place on HN.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]