Will the world's richest man have to give his ex-wife half? Twitter reacts to Jeff Bezos's divorce

10 January 2019 - 10:36 By Odwa Mjo

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie, have announced their divorce. They say they will remain 'treasured friends'.
Image: AFP/Joe Klamar

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has announced his divorce from wife MacKenzie - and Twitter wants to know if he will have to give her half his wealth.

In a statement on his Twitter account, Bezos, the richest man in the world according to Forbes, announced that he and his wife of 25 years are splitting.

"After a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends," the two said in a joint statement.

pic.twitter.com/Gb10BDb0x0
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 9, 2019

In the wake of the divorce, many on social media have been questioning how the couple will split their assets.

According to Bloomberg, an even split of the Amazon founder's US $137bn stash would make MacKenzie Bezos the richest woman in the world, walking away with almost $69bn.

Bezos currently has a 16% stake in the company. He also owns newspaper The Washington Post which he bought in 2013 for $250m and aerospace company Blue Origin, according to Forbes.

"Jeff Bezos" trended on Twitter soon after the announcement, and many were curious about how much of his wealth he would have to share with his soon-to-be ex.

So if Jeff Bezos' wife gets half the money in their divorce she will officially become the richest woman on the planet.

This must be that trickle down effect we keep hearing about...
— stonedog (@stonedogmusic) January 10, 2019

This Jeff Bezos news is interesting. Divorce in the US means that assets gets divided 50-50. So Amazon's founder is already worth US $123Bn. In a wild scenario if the wife gets half of the share, she'll already be the richest woman of 2019, surpassing Alice Watson at US $45.6Bn.
— Hamza Mahmood (@mahmooyo) January 10, 2019

So ifJeff Bezo's wife gets half his money in the divorce, surely that will put her in the top 5 richest people on earth list👀, for just saying I do 😭
— Andinamali sisi. (@Keith_a_Trip) January 10, 2019

If I were Jeff Bezos and had to split $137 billion with a woman I have been married to for 25 years and have four children with, it would not be a big deal. I would be fine with that.
— Hloho (@MakweloRL_) January 10, 2019

Jeff Bezos is getting divorced.

*cries in community of property* pic.twitter.com/EiyMBbqB1g
— Peaky Blinder🌱 (@Goddy_101) January 10, 2019

Most of Jeff Bezos’ worth is in $AMZN stock. If he gives half his worth to his wife, which will inevitably be comprised in part (if not mostly) by stock in the company, it could hurt the stock price, as she is far less apt to hold onto her sizeable position.
— Sam Eshaghoff (@SamEshaghoff) January 10, 2019