Jeff Bezos settles his divorce with wife MacKenzie in record settlement

The wealthiest man in the world has got off lightly following a divorce settlement that saw him lose billions.

It has been announced that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will leave his wife MacKenzie Bezos a quarter of their joint Amazon stocks, representing a four per cent stake in the internet giant, or around $US32 billion ($A45 billion) in value.

The portion Bezos is holding on to is worth around $US100billion ($A140 billion), enabling him to retain the title of the richest man in the world, beating out Microsoft mogul Bill Gates by $US4billion ($A6 billion).

Mr Bezos will also take control of Mackenzie’s remaining stock in his other companies, The Washington Post and Blue Origin, the space exploration company he founded..

The now-separated couple announced the details of the split in tweets overnight.
 

pic.twitter.com/oFGWPkK3dB

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 4, 2019

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— MacKenzie Bezos (@mackenziebezos) April 4, 2019

“I’m grateful for her support and for her kindness in this process,” Jeff Bezos said in a tweet

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The two didn’t go in to detail about dividing their expansive properties and other investments — keeping the tone light and gracious in their statements.

Their decades-long marriage came to a halt in January when Bezos’ romance with his now-girlfriend Lauren Sanchez was brought into light.
 

The couple announced they were divorcing in January, just before the National Enquirer published a story saying Bezos was having an affair. He later accused the tabloid’s publisher of threatening to publish explicit photos of him unless he stopped investigating how the Enquirer obtained his private messages.

Since then, there has only been speculation surrounding other details of the highly-publicised split.

The Bezos divorce settlement is the most expensive in history, easily eclipsing other payouts.

French-American businessman and art dealer Alec Wildenstein divorced his wife of 21 years, Jocelyn Wildenstein, in 1999 at a cost of $US3.8 billion ($A5.3 billion).
 

Rupert Murdoch reportedly paid $US1.7 billion ($A2.4 billion) to his former wife, Anna, in 1998, while Formula One executive Bernie Ecclestone forked out $US1.2 billion ($A1.7 billion) to Slavica Radic when their marriage ended in 2009.