Amazon's Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie to divorce

World's wealthiest man has been married to author for 25 years

Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie Bezos have decided to divorce after 25 years. AP Photo

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the world's wealthiest person, said he and his wife MacKenzie Bezos were divorcing after a long separation.

"We want to make people aware of a development in our lives," Jeff Bezos, 54, and MacKenzie Bezos, 48, said in joint statement posted to Bezos' Twitter feed.

"As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends."

The couple said they felt "incredibly lucky" for their 25 years together and would remain involved with each other as close friends and parents.

"Though the labels might be different, we remain a family and we remain cherished friends," the statement continued.

Mrs Bezos is the author of two books, including The Testing of Luther Albright, a psychological novel about the challenges facing a Sacramento, California father and his family after an earthquake.

She was one of the first employees of Amazon at its founding and in 2014 launched Bystander Revolution, an anti-bullying organisation.

Amazon.com‘s Jeff Bezos and his former wife MacKenzie Bezos announced their separation in January. AFP

The couple, who have four children, met while working at the hedge fund DE Shaw prior to Bezos's founding of Amazon.

Mr Bezos is rated the world's wealthiest man by Forbes and Bloomberg, with a fortune estimated at around $137 billion.

Amazon this week passed Microsoft to become the world's biggest publicly traded company by market capitalisation.

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