Judge Finalises Jeff Bezos And Mackenzie Bezos’ Divorce

After announcing their split in January, MacKenzie Bezos and Jeff Bezos are now officially divorced after 25 years of marriage.

A King County, Washington judge on Friday signed an order formalizing the separation. That sets the stage for the transfer of some 19.7 million shares of Amazon.com Inc. to MacKenzie’s name.

That 4% holding is valued at $38.3 billion, enough to place her 22nd on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. Her former husband, the founder and chief executive officer of the world’s largest online retailer and web-services company, retains a 12% stake worth $114.8 billion and remains the world’s wealthiest person.

Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos | Photo: CNBC

The court papers formalizing the divorce revealed little else about the terms of the separation. The couple filed a parenting plan for their children earlier this week. MacKenzie Bezos, a 49-year-old novelist, said in an April tweet that she gave Jeff Bezos, 55, all of her interests in the Washington Post and space-exploration company Blue Origin.

She also signed the Giving Pledge in May, promising to donate more than half of her fortune to philanthropy.

“I won’t wait,” she wrote in her pledge. “And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.”

Jeff Bezos, 55, remains the world’s richest person, with a 12% Amazon stake worth $112 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’ll retain other assets, including the Washington Post and space-exploration company Blue Origin, MacKenzie Bezos, 49, said in an April tweet.