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Jeff Bezos agrees to record breaking $35bn divorce settlement

Jeff Bezos agrees to record breaking $35bn divorce settlement

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has finalised his divorce from wife MacKenzie, giving her a separate stake in the online shopping giant.

Ms Bezos will get 4% of Amazon, worth at least $35bn, when the divorce is approved, which is expected to happen in about 90 days.

Before the separation, Mr Bezos had a 16% stake in Amazon worth more than $140bn, making him one of the world's richest people.

In a tweet, Ms Bezos said that she was giving up all of her interests in The Washington Post, the newspaper that Mr Bezos bought in 2013, and Blue Origin, the space exploration company he founded.

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She added: "Excited about my own plans. Grateful for the past as I look forward to what comes next,"

Mr Bezos said in a tweet on Thursday: "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."

The couple announced they were divorcing in January, just before the National Enquirer published a story saying Jeff Bezos was having an affair with a former TV host.

Bezos later accused the tabloid's publisher of threatening to publish explicit photos of him unless he stopped investigating how the Enquirer obtained his private messages.

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He'll still be the company's biggest shareholder when the divorce is complete, with a 12% stake in Amazon.

PA & Digital Desk

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