Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos divorcing

[WOT?*]

Has this been talked about?


No information whether they have a pre- or post-nup. She was an early employee of Amazon and they were married several months before it was founded. If they go 50/50 (Washington state is a community property state, where if there's no pre/post-nup she gets 50% of anything acquired during the marriage) she will be the richest woman in the world by a couple tens of billions of dollars.

www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/jeff-bezos-wife-could-become-worlds-richest-woman-after-divorce/ar-BBS2cgg?ocid=spartandhp

[aurora]

If she was part of it since before the beginning, that sounds fair to me!

[rondonalddo]

So that's why I'm seeing this headline on a few different sites. I was wondering.

[pumpkin]

Evidently they put out a joint statement via twitter today.
It was interesting/different.

[wise_rita]

Jan 9, 2019 21:25:58 GMT -5 rondonalddo said:

So that's why I'm seeing this headline on a few different sites. I was wondering.

Yes!  I was wondering why it's plastered everywhere and this is the first thing I've bothered to click in and read.

Richest woman in the world...from a divorce settlement.

That's mildly depressing when you consider all the decades of hard work put in by self-made women (Oprah et al).

[memenee]

I read that Jeff Bezos has had a girlfriend for a while, a news anchor, who is apparently in the midst of a divorce from her husband.

[aprilsails]

DH is convinces that this is a scam so they can divest some of their shares without tanking the share price. Apparently one of the Enron execs ‘divorced’ his wife back before all the trouble and a judge ordered her to sell of her shares (creating huge amounts of liquid cash) but without damaging the stock price since she obviously wasn’t selling off because she wanted too.

I am not convinced. Several articles referenced them having a lengthy separation already.

[WOT?*]

Jan 10, 2019 5:24:26 GMT -5 memenee said:

I read that Jeff Bezos has had a girlfriend for a while, a news anchor, who is apparently in the midst of a divorce from her husband.

Hmmmm. Oooh, dish up the dirt.

hollywoodlife.com/2019/01/09/who-is-lauren-sanchez-jeff-bezos-dating-rumors-divorce/

[msmerymac]

Jan 9, 2019 22:48:01 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Jan 9, 2019 21:25:58 GMT -5 rondonalddo said:

So that's why I'm seeing this headline on a few different sites. I was wondering.

Yes!  I was wondering why it's plastered everywhere and this is the first thing I've bothered to click in and read.

Richest woman in the world...from a divorce settlement.

That's mildly depressing when you consider all the decades of hard work put in by self-made women (Oprah et al).

And yet there's also a long history of women gaining money and power through men. Which can be good or bad, depending on the lens you use. Corporate boards, corporate ownership, political office.

And I thought Christina Lurie made out well when she got a chunk of ownership in the Philadelphia Eagles in her divorce. :/

[katieinthecity]

Jan 9, 2019 22:48:01 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Jan 9, 2019 21:25:58 GMT -5 rondonalddo said:

So that's why I'm seeing this headline on a few different sites. I was wondering.

Yes!  I was wondering why it's plastered everywhere and this is the first thing I've bothered to click in and read.

Richest woman in the world...from a divorce settlement.

That's mildly depressing when you consider all the decades of hard work put in by self-made women (Oprah et al).

While I see your point, please don't totally discount the likely sacrifices and work on her part that I'm sure went into the business(es) either directly or in the form of support to her husband. Anyone married to someone who works for themselves/is an entrepreneur knows that it's a joint effort.

My DH had an LLC for awhile, flipping houses, and while everything was technically in his name, and he did most of the actual work, he was using the majority of his income from his "real job" to run that, so my income floated our life, plus I ran the house while he was running a second job chasing his dream. When he liquidated you better fucking believe everything was joint. I earned that money as much as he did. 

[sarahsays]

Jan 10, 2019 8:57:31 GMT -5 katieinthecity said:

Jan 9, 2019 22:48:01 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Yes!  I was wondering why it's plastered everywhere and this is the first thing I've bothered to click in and read.

Richest woman in the world...from a divorce settlement.

That's mildly depressing when you consider all the decades of hard work put in by self-made women (Oprah et al).

While I see your point, please don't totally discount the likely sacrifices and work on her part that I'm sure went into the business(es) either directly or in the form of support to her husband. Anyone married to someone who works for themselves/is an entrepreneur knows that it's a joint effort.

My DH had an LLC for awhile, flipping houses, and while everything was technically in his name, and he did most of the actual work, he was using the majority of his income from his "real job" to run that, so my income floated our life, plus I ran the house while he was running a second job chasing his dream. When he liquidated you better fucking believe everything was joint. I earned that money as much as he did. 

I agree with this! It's not like they got married after Amazon was successful (or even founded.) Mackenzie, no doubt, also sacrificed and worked hard to make the company successful.

[thelurkylulu]

Jan 9, 2019 22:48:01 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Jan 9, 2019 21:25:58 GMT -5 rondonalddo said:

So that's why I'm seeing this headline on a few different sites. I was wondering.

Yes!  I was wondering why it's plastered everywhere and this is the first thing I've bothered to click in and read.

Richest woman in the world...from a divorce settlement.

That's mildly depressing when you consider all the decades of hard work put in by self-made women (Oprah et al).

This response is bothering me. While she may not have had an official role in the company, she definitely played a part in the success of Amazon. I would also wager that she did work for the company (unofficially or officially) in the early days. Just because she didn’t have the title of CEO doesn’t mean she didn’t contribute. A bit different than just getting money for being married, IMO.

[aurora]

Jan 10, 2019 10:06:48 GMT -5 thelurkylulu said:

Jan 9, 2019 22:48:01 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Yes!  I was wondering why it's plastered everywhere and this is the first thing I've bothered to click in and read.

Richest woman in the world...from a divorce settlement.

That's mildly depressing when you consider all the decades of hard work put in by self-made women (Oprah et al).

This response is bothering me. While she may not have had an official role in the company, she definitely played a part in the success of Amazon. I would also wager that she did work for the company (unofficially or officially) in the early days. Just because she didn’t have the title of CEO doesn’t mean she didn’t contribute. A bit different than just getting money for being married, IMO.

I agree with your point, but I guess I read wise_rita's post a bit differently, more that it's sad that in general women have a more difficult time becoming very wealthy on our own, but instead benefit from being linked to men. That's different from just getting money for being married.

My H co-owns a business. While it's nothing like Amazon, absolutely my job and partnership is crucial to his success.

[VillainV]

Jan 10, 2019 10:44:56 GMT -5 aurora said:

Jan 10, 2019 10:06:48 GMT -5 thelurkylulu said:

This response is bothering me. While she may not have had an official role in the company, she definitely played a part in the success of Amazon. I would also wager that she did work for the company (unofficially or officially) in the early days. Just because she didn’t have the title of CEO doesn’t mean she didn’t contribute. A bit different than just getting money for being married, IMO.

I agree with your point, but I guess I read wise_rita's post a bit differently, more that it's sad that in general women have a more difficult time becoming very wealthy on our own, but instead benefit from being linked to men. That's different from just getting money for being married.

My H co-owns a business. While it's nothing like Amazon, absolutely my job and partnership is crucial to his success.

This was my take away. Even someone as amazingly successful and wealthy as Oprah (Oprah!) is still worth less than half as much as Jeff Bezos.

[mbcdefg]

www.yahoo.com/entertainment/donald-trump-weighs-jeff-bezos-185211942.html

Asked by a reporter on the White House lawn about Bezos’ pending divorce, Trump ― himself no stranger to marital breakups ― said: “Well, I wish him luck. I wish him luck. It’s going to be a beauty.”

WHY DOESN'T HE KNOW HOW TO TALK LIKE A REAL HUMAN BEING. /rhetorical 

[raangoli]

Jan 11, 2019 9:08:08 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

www.yahoo.com/entertainment/donald-trump-weighs-jeff-bezos-185211942.html

Asked by a reporter on the White House lawn about Bezos’ pending divorce, Trump ― himself no stranger to marital breakups ― said: “Well, I wish him luck. I wish him luck. It’s going to be a beauty.”

WHY DOESN'T HE KNOW HOW TO TALK LIKE A REAL HUMAN BEING. /rhetorical 

Sometimes I feel awkward and feel like I say the wrong thing. And then I remember I will never be as weird as Cheeto. It's a low bar, but it's something. 

[katieinthecity]

Will Jeff Bezos Get Half of MacKenzie Bezos's Fortune in the Divorce?

www.linkedin.com/content-guest/article/jeff-bezos-get-half-mackenzie-bezoss-fortune-divorce-penelope-trunk

[downtoearth]

Jan 15, 2019 14:59:29 GMT -5 katieinthecity said:

Will Jeff Bezos Get Half of MacKenzie Bezos's Fortune in the Divorce?

www.linkedin.com/content-guest/article/jeff-bezos-get-half-mackenzie-bezoss-fortune-divorce-penelope-trunk

Interesting - especially since I'm in the weeds of trying to figure out finances and divorce.

Why do people assume Jeff will be doling out money to MacKenzie? The money is as much hers as it is his. Some headlines are simply despicable. NBC ran the headline The settlement between the world's richest man and his wife. But if he is the world's richest man, then she is the world's richest woman. Already. Before the settlement. Because all his money is her money.

Consider what it would be like if NBC ran this headline: The settlement between the world's richest woman and her husband. It sounds odd, right? Because the power in the sentence is so firmly on MacKenzie's side. But then we should recognize the first headline as odd, too. The headline NBC ran is bad journalism because it distorts reality.

The language of divorce is about power...

We should reframe this discussion and should try to counter it with accurate headlines, but these grabby-gossipy headlines get more clicks because they speak to our own societal biases, huh?

[sent]

@

I started my business from scratch. I did benefit from my husband having a full time job during 2 lean years when I made very little profit. But if he wasn't in the picture, I had savings and would have lived a very spartan life and would have been ok. He has contributed very, very little to the financial success of my business especially in those early-startup pre-kids days. After we had DD, he would watch her on the weekends sometimes so I could do some work stuff. Now he sometimes watches both kids when I have to work once a month on a Sunday. If we ever split, I would do everything in my power to make sure he gets no part of my business. Or if he was entitled because of state laws and such, I would try to stipulate the money has to go straight to the kids in some form and not be wasted on designer clothes and booze.

I've seen it's a common sentiment to assume that the other partner sacrificed to build the business. I especially have seen this when it's the husband building the business and the wife pitches in doing all the crap tasks until loyal employees are found which is what we are assuming of MacKenzie Bezos here. My husband didn't sacrifice anything and did nothing inside the business. I built this thing myself and with help from my family, and I continue to do it myself with my employees.

[downtoearth]

sent - I don’t advocate taking the company or being part of the company profit decisions during divorce, but instead that the couple is worth a total amount based on what he/his company has paid himself and they have invested for their future.

For example, my H and I are seperated and he has little to no retirement because he instead is an early/original employee of an employee-owned company (ESOP) and we are/were counting on that for his share of retirement since he was in jobs without retirement or lower paying for about 10 of our 13 years married. I don’t want his ESOP money now, but that financial decision we made together and his potential share in the ESOP when he retires have to be discussed when separating finances since giving him half my retirement is unreasonable if he already has vested ESOP $ that are just structured differently than typical retirement.

[sarahsays]

sent, I think the difference here is that we don't have to assume Mackenzie's role in Amazon. Even if we look past her willingness to give up her very comfortable life in NYC and move across the country so that her husband could create a startup, it is, relatively, well publicized that she worked directly on the company in it's early years. She was their first accountant, negotiated some of their first freight contracts, and was an integral part of the decision to move from online book retailer to a larger e-commerce market.

www.wired.com/story/mackenzie-bezos-amazon-lone-genius-myth/

[sent]

sarahsays , I was not aware of her role in the company. That does make things more complicated. I don't know how these things work in divorces but I know of many older male colleagues who would like to slow down but have to continue running their businesses at full speed and then some because they got cleaned out in a divorce.

@ downtoearth , yes, it's messy. I think about it a lot because our marriage is not great but my kids' lifestyles will suffer if we wind up with 2 households. I have been contributing the max to two ROTH-IRAs for the last 6 years and plan to keep doing so for as long as we remain eligible - one for each of us. That's basically a $5500 after-tax gift I have given him every year in April that he does not appreciate at all. Instead he whined and mocked me during those lean years about how I'm so poor because I refused to buy him (insert expensive designer nonsense here) for his birthday/Christmas.