With billions of dollars on the line, Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon, and his ex-wife, novelist MacKenzie Bezos, announced on Thursday that they are in the process of finalizing their divorce.

After months of speculation surrounding the future of Amazon and the personal valuation of Bezos, the ex-couple revealed on Twitter how their stock is being divided.

As it turns out, Jeff Bezos is exiting the marriage (still) richer than everyone else in the world.

$110 billion net worth

MacKenzie Bezos said in a tweet that the Amazon CEO will retain 75% of the couple’s Amazon stock, along with voting control of his ex-wife’s shares “to support his continued contributions with the teams of these incredible companies,’’ she said.

That means that the Amazon CEO still reigns as the richest person on the planet, with a net worth of more than $110 billion, according to Forbes. Bill Gates is the world’s second-wealthiest individual, boasting an estimated $99.5-billion fortune, Forbes reports.

“Happy to be giving him all of my interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin," Mackenzie tweeted. Blue Origin is Jeff's space exploration company, and he bought the Washington Post for $250 million in 2013.

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$35.7 billion in shares

The Amazon tycoon will transfer roughly 4% of Amazon's stock to his ex-wife, according to an SEC filing dated April 4. The transfer, which is likely to happen by early July, equates to roughly 19.7 million shares worth about $35.7 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

Amazon’s stock was down about 0.4% Thursday afternoon following the news and closed down 0.1%.

Mackenzie is leaving the marriage as one of the richest women in the world.

With a $35.7-billion fortune, she ranks third behind L’Oréal’s heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, who is worth an estimated $52.9 billion, and Walmart’s Alice Walton, who is worth $45 billion, according to Forbes. 

Overall, Mackenzie would be the 26th-richest person on the planet, Forbes reports. 

Speaking of his former wife, Jeff Bezos tweeted, "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.''

It remains unclear how the couple will split their real-estate holdings. The family owns at least six large properties across the U.S., according to Business Insider. 

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While some of the financial terms of the Bezos split remain up in the air, the stock alone dwarfs each of the world's previous billion-dollar breakups.

The second biggest divorce happened 20 years ago between New York socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein, 78, and Alec Wildenstein, a 67-year-old art dealer. Jocelyn was awarded $2.5 billion and an annual $100 million for 13 years, according to Reuters.

Rupert and Anna Murdoch's $1.7-billion divorce happened that same year. The media mogul and his former wife split after being married for 32 years.

Follow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: @Dalvin_Brown



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