Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos Divorce....Amazon, Real Estate; What is really at Stake?

As for what is involved, in what is going to be the biggest divorce settlement in history right now....... an estimated $137 billion is at stake.

The couple, who are both graduates of the prestigious Princeton University, met in 1992, while Jeff was recruiting for a Hedge Fund at the time. He is said to have interviewed her personally. The couple reportedly started dating and tied the knot shortly after.

Since most of Jeff's wealth was made while they got married (reports have it that she was instrumental to the set up of Amazon in it's early days and was there when he wrote his business plan for Amazon. He is said to have made his first $1M after they got married), they are probably going to have a 50-50 split. The fact that there was allegedly no prenup makes it more likely. The location where the divorce was filled is also important. It was reportedly filled in the state of Washington which is a community property state. This means all assets, property, liabilities and debt acquired during a marriage will be shared equally by the court if the couple cannot divide it amicably.

There is also the issue of how it would affect his shares and controlling interest at Amazon, where he owns about 16.3%. The split could dilute his controlling interest (he may end up having equal stake with his wife) and it is unclear if she would support the status quo at Amazon.

He would however still be one of the biggest shareholders, as the next biggest shareholders, Vanguard Group and Blackrock Group Inc. own just 5%. He also owns Washington Post.

Then there is his other investment apart from shares....Real Estate. He is considered one of the biggest property and land owners in America. According to DailyMail.....

The couple own two homes on a 5.3-acre property in Medina, Washington, which they purchased in 1998 They also have two mansions in Beverly Hills one purchased for $24.45million in 2007 and second neighbouring property bought 10 years later in 2017 for $12.9million The majority of the Bezos' land holdings are in West Texas, where the family owns estimated 400,000 acres One of the holdings is a 30,000-acre Figure 2 ranch outside of Van Horn, home to space company Blue Origin In 2016 the Bezos dropped $23million on a former textile museum in Washington DC's Kalorama area The Bezos bought a pad in Manhattan's Central Park West for $7.7million in 1999

A 50-50 split of assets would mean he would no longer be the richest man in the world. It would most likely go back to Bill Gates who is reportedly worth over $90B. The split would however make MacKenzie not just the richest woman in the world but among top 5 richest people in the world.