Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos will keep 75 per cent of his stock in the company after his divorce from MacKenzie Bezos, the couple announced on Thursday.
The announcement eliminated any concern that the split would influence his control over one of the world’s most valuable businesses.
Mr Bezos will continue to be the largest shareholder of the e-commerce giant, which is valued at almost $900 billion (Dh3.305 trillion), and gain voting control of his former wife’s remaining shares.
He will also maintain ownership of the The Washington Post and his space exploration company, Blue Origin.
Amazon investors mostly shrugged off news in January of the couple’s divorce after 25 years of marriage.
Thursday's statement confirms that the company will face few complications, said RJ Hottovy, an analyst at Morningstar.
“I see the announcement as a positive for shareholders,” Mr Hottovy said. “The fact that Jeff Bezos will retain sole voting authority over the shares should alleviate some ownership concerns.”
Ms Bezos posted on Twitter: “Grateful to have finished the process of dissolving my marriage with Jeff with support from each other and everyone who reached out to us in kindness.
"Happy to be giving him all of my interests in The Washington Post and Blue Origin, and 75 per cent of our Amazon stock plus voting control of my shares to support his continued contributions with the teams of these incredible companies."
She keeps four per cent of Amazon, or about 19.7 million shares worth about $35.7bn, the company said in a filing.
That makes Ms Besos the world’s fourth-richest woman, Bloomberg data shows.
Amazon shares dipped less than 1 per cent at 1.38pm in New York.
The couple announced their divorce not long before the National Enquirer published an article saying Mr Bezos was having a relationship with Lauren Sanchez, a former TV presenter.
The announcement sparked speculation about how their wealth, estimated at more than $130bn, would be divided.
Mr Bezos is the world’s richest person and will remain in that position after the divorce, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows.
He is still embroiled in a public relations feud with the National Enquirer and its parent company, American Media, about how the company learnt of his extramarital affair and obtained graphic photos he sent his lover.
The tabloid said it learnt of the affair from Michael Sanchez, the brother of Lauren.
Jeff and MacKenzie met in New York at the hedge fund DE Shaw.
Mr Bezos was the first person to interview her for a role at the hedge fund and the pair ended eventually had offices next to each other, Vogue reported in 2013.
They married in 1993 and a year later drove across the country to Seattle, where Mr Bezos founded Amazon. They have four children.
Ms Bezos, an author, played a significant role at the company in the early years but her presence faded later.
Most high-ranking employees saw her at social events the couple hosted at their home in Medina, Washington, and elsewhere.
They would also be seen with their children at Lakeside, a Seattle private school.
When Amazon displayed its new biospheres, the plant-filled architectural centrepiece of its Seattle headquarters, the couple toured the building with a horticulturist.
Ms Bezos also accompanied her husband to Hollywood events after Amazon began a concerted push into video and original programming.
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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