Dan Bennett

Jeff Bezos divorced his wife after 25 years of marriage. She walked away with $36B in Amazon stock. But she gave him the voting rights to every share she received. Bezos kept 75% of their Amazon holdings, and his ex-wife helped make sure he wouldn't lose control of the company. They had built Amazon together from the beginning. Jeff and MacKenzie met while working at the hedge fund D.E. Shaw in New York. They married in 1993. A year later, they drove across the country to Seattle. MacKenzie drove while Jeff worked on the business plan for what would become Amazon. She was there in the early days, handling accounting and helping negotiate contracts. 25 years later, their marriage was ending. Their combined fortune was estimated at more than $130B, almost entirely tied to Amazon shares. Then private messages between Jeff and another woman became public. Bezos accused the National Enquirer's publisher of threatening to release intimate photos of him. The divorce was already public. Now his private life had become a national story. And investors were watching something else. Who would control Amazon? Together, Jeff and MacKenzie owned roughly 16% of the company, which was valued at nearly $900B. Under the settlement announced in April 2019, the shares were divided 75% to Jeff and 25% to MacKenzie. That left her with about 4% of Amazon. Worth $36B. Enough to make her one of the richest women in the world. But the ownership agreement had another condition. Jeff retained voting control over MacKenzie's shares. She also gave up her interests in The Washington Post and Blue Origin. When the divorce was finalized in July, her Amazon stake was worth approximately $38B. She had helped build the business, spent 25 years married to its founder, and left with one of the largest divorce settlements in history. But Bezos still controlled the votes attached to the entire 16% stake they once owned together. She kept $36B in stock. He kept the voting power.

Michael B. Jordan attends CultureCon 2026. 📸

Trump defends the men in the Cornell gang rape case, saying he “feels bad” for them and they won't get a “fair shake”

Am I the only person who thinks Diana, Princess of Wales was a manipulitive Narcissist?

Unbelieveable. Officials were unable to carry out the execution of Christa Gail Pike, witnesses said, after the lethal injection was administered. Pike appeared to receive 2 doses of pentobarbital, and she was still awake 40 minutes after. Pike is now en route to the hosptial.