This Amazon return has been officially processed.
Online retailer CEO Jeff Bezos’ marriage to MacKenzie Bezos is officially over.
A Seattle-area judge finalized the couple’s divorce on Friday, six months after news emerged that Jeff Bezos had been cheating on his wife with former television news anchor Lauren Sanchez.
The pair, who share four children together, announced their split in January via Twitter after 25 years of marriage.
The settlement leaves MacKenzie Bezos with a 4% stake in the online retail hub worth $38.8 billion — thrusting her to the top ranks of the world’s richest people. She’s currently at No. 22 on the Billboards Billionaire Index and only three other women — Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, Alice Walton and Jacqueline Mars — are worth more.
Jeff Bezos, meanwhile, retains a 12% stake worth $114.8 billion and remains the richest person in the world. His former wife also said she would give him voting control of her shares.
The 49-year-old novelist in a letter shared online in May vowed to give away half her fortune to charity through the Giving Pledge, founded in 2010 by billionaire investor Warren Buffet and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
“We each come by the gifts we have to offer by an infinite series of influences and lucky breaks we can never fully understand. In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I have a disproportionate amount of money to share,” she said on her decision to give to the philanthropic club.
“My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.”
According to Quartz, of the top five wealthiest Americans, only Jeff Bezos, 55, has not signed the Giving Pledge. He has also praised his wife for her philanthropy after she signed onto the campaign.
“MacKenzie is going to be amazing and thoughtful and effective at philanthropy, and I’m proud of her,” he tweeted. “Her letter is so beautiful. Go get ’em MacKenzie.”
