Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos have finalized their divorce in a settlement that will make her the third richest woman in the world — even though she could have fought her cheating husband for at least twice as much money.
MacKenzie is leaving the billionaire Amazon founder with 75 percent of their shared stock in the e-tail giant, as well as voting control over the nearly 20 million shares she’s keeping for herself.
But her piece is worth about $35 billion.
Jeff, 55, keeps all the shares in The Washington Post, which he bought in 2013, and in his space company, Blue Origin.
The ex-couple, who apparently had no prenup, announced they were divorcing in January, just before The Post revealed Jeff was dating TV host Lauren Sanchez.
The National Enquirer splashed their leaked love notes across its pages and described X-rated photos of Jeff — including a “below the belt selfie.”
The Bezoses did not reveal how they addressed custody of their teenage children or whether their would be any alimony or child support.
It was also unclear how they divvied up their massive property holdings.
“Grateful to have finished the process of dissolving my marriage with Jeff with support from each other and everyone who reached out to us in kindness, and looking forward to the next phase as co-parents and friends,” tweeted MacKenzie, 48, a novelist who was with Jeff when he founded Amazon in 1994.
“Happy to be giving him all of my interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, and 75% of our Amazon stock plus voting control of my shares to support his continued contributions with the teams of these incredible companies.”
The couple of 25 years had shared a 16 percent stake — or 78.8 million shares — of Amazon, and MacKenzie’s remaining shares amount to 4 percent.
The mother of four could have laid claim to half, but market experts had predicted she wouldn’t attempt to dilute Jeff’s control of the company because it could spook investors and reduce the value of Amazon shares.
If so, the division seems to have worked in calming Wall Street’s fears, with Amazon shares closing down just 0.1 percent at $1,818.86 Thursday.
“It’s been a sideshow and an unprecedented situation for a CEO divorce like this, but tech investors are glad this soap opera is over in terms of its potential impact to Amazon stock,” Dan Ives, an analyst for Wedbush Securities, told The Post.
Matrimonial lawyer Liat Sadler said,“They’ve done a lot of work behind the scenes to make their breakup as amicable as it seems.”
But, she noted, it’s still not clear what Jeff received in return for giving up $38 billion worth of the company.
“Without knowing what cash she received, I have no idea how favorable it was to him or not,” Sadler added.
In addition to being the richest couple on the planet, the Bezoses own at least six properties across the country, including a sprawling home in Medina, Wash., a ranch in Van Horn, Texas, a Beverly Hills mansion, a Manhattan condo and a former museum in DC that was converted into a single-family home. Jeff is the 28th largest landowner in the US, according to the Land Report.
MacKenzie will be one of the richest women on earth behind only L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, who is worth $49.3 billion, and Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton whose net worth is $45 billion.
The scandal that ended with the Bezoses’ split led to a series of salacious revelations that went far beyond the affair.
Jeff investigated how the Enquirer got its hands on his private material and published an explosive blog post accusing the tabloid’s parent company, American Media Inc., of trying to “blackmail” him by threatening to release the illicit pics.
Sanchez’s own brother, Michael Sanchez, eventually admitted to helping the tab break the story though denied leaking the snaps of Jeff’s package.
On Thursday, Jeff issued a statement similar to now-ex-wife’s, saying he was “grateful” to his supportive friends and family — but “MacKenzie most of all.”
“I’m grateful for her support and for her kindness in this process and am very much looking forward to our new relationship as friends and co-parents,” he tweeted.
“She is resourceful and brilliant and loving, and as our futures unroll, I know I’ll always be learning from her.”
With Wire Services