AMZN Amazon.com Inc

By Jay Greene and Veronica Dagher 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (April 5, 2019).

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos agreed to a divorce settlement that reduces his stake in Amazon.com Inc. but leaves the chief executive with voting control over Ms. Bezos' share.

The settlement solved a lingering question about what would happen to Mr. Bezos' stake, the largest in the company, following the couple's announcement in January that their marriage was ending after 25 years.

Amazon is the third-largest company by market capitalization, behind Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Mr. Bezos will retain 75% of the shares he owns with Ms. Bezos, she said Thursday on Twitter. Ms. Bezos will get the rest after the couple's divorce decree is approved by a court, according to an Amazon securities filing.

Mr. Bezos has a 16.1% stake in Amazon, according to FactSet. The tweets and the regulatory filing Thursday make clear Mr. Bezos will retain voting control of that stake, even as 4% of the company shares will be registered in Ms. Bezos' name.

Mr. Bezos also will retain voting rights over any additional shares Ms. Bezos receives through a stock split or dividend.

If Ms. Bezos transfers her shares, other than selling them in the open market or donating them, she is required to have the recipient enter into a voting agreement under the same terms with Mr. Bezos.

Based on the company's current stock price, Ms. Bezos' stake would be valued at more than $35 billion, affirming her status as one of the richest women in the world.

Ms. Bezos also said in her tweet she gave Mr. Bezos her interests in The Washington Post and the rocket company Blue Origin LLC, which Mr. Bezos founded. She made no mention of how the couple will divvy up the homes and other valuable possessions they own.

In her tweet, Ms. Bezos said she gave Mr. Bezos voting control of her Amazon shares, as well as stakes in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, to "support his continued contributions with the teams of these incredible companies." She added: "Excited about my own plans. Grateful for the past as I look forward to what comes next."

Mr. Bezos' Twitter account retweeted the tweet, the only one shown from Ms. Bezos' account, which was created this month.

"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," Mr. Bezos said in his own tweet.

An Amazon spokesman Thursday said the divorce filing was made in Washington state, where the couple lives. The petition was filed Thursday and a decree is expected to be issued within the next 90 days, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Keeping a divorce short and out of the public eye, as much as possible, is a lesson wealthy couples can learn from the Bezos' speedy dissolution, financial advisers and attorneys say.

It is likely Ms. Bezos and her advisers decided the terms were equitable after taking into account the length of the couple's marriage, her contribution to the union and Ms. Bezos' lifestyle, said Michelle Smith, chief executive of Source Financial Advisors.

Ms. Smith, a New York certified divorce financial analyst who works with wealthy women, said when one spouse is so fundamental to a business, as Mr. Bezos is to Amazon, it is generally unrealistic for the other spouse to expect a 50-50 settlement.

Ms. Bezos, a novelist, wrote "The Testing of Luther Albright: A Novel" and "Traps." The couple met in the early 1990s while working in finance at the New York investment firm D.E. Shaw. He was among the first people to interview her when she applied for a job there.

They married in 1993 and have four teenage children -- three boys and a girl.

When Mr. Bezos founded Amazon in a home garage in 1994, Ms. Bezos served as its accountant. She participated in early strategy meetings and helped pack books into boxes alongside Mr. Bezos and other employees.

A literary agent for Ms. Bezos had no comment.

Mr. Bezos is the world's wealthiest person, with a net worth of about $150 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The couple didn't disclose other details of the divorce settlement, including what portion of that wealth Ms. Bezos will receive.

Allison Prang contributed to this article.

Write to Jay Greene at Jay.Greene@wsj.com and Veronica Dagher at veronica.dagher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 05, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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