Jeff Bezos Will Own 75% of Amazon (AMZN) Stock After Divorce

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by Teuta Franjkovic · 4 min read
Jeff Bezos Will Own 75% of Amazon (AMZN) Stock After Divorce
Jeff Bezos. Photo: Steve Jurvetson / Flickr

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will keep 75% of the shares in the ecommerce giant that were jointly held with his wife, MacKenzie — and he retain full voting control of all of the couple’s shares — after the two finalized terms of their divorce.

Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world is keeping his position so far. His current net worth is estimated at $150 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

However, even though there were speculations about his wife MacKenzie becoming the richest woman in the world – this will not happen. With the proceeds of her stake, estimated at $36bn at current market prices, no one doubts she stays unhappy, what she’s affirming in a tweet:

MacKenzie and Jeff met while working for the same hedge fund, D.E. Shaw, in 1992. A year later the two were married, and a year after that the couple were moving to Seattle. Jeff wrote Amazon’s business plan in the car while MacKenzie drove.

The rest, of course, is history. Amazon.com has become synonymous with “e-commerce,” largely because it does more of it than almost any outfit. Alibaba technically does more, but Alibaba is only a middleman. Amazon.com sells goods out of its own inventory as well as that of third parties.

Jeff and MacKenzie’s total stake in Amazon of $143bn had made them the richest couple in the world.

As part of the terms of their divorce, MacKenzie Bezos will also relinquish all her interests in the Washington Post newspaper, which her then-husband snapped up for a mere $250m in a surprise deal in 2013, and rocket company Blue Origin.

In the 8-K filing, Amazon said:

“A petition for divorce was filed on April 4, 2019, and the divorce decree is expected to be issued in approximately 90 days. If MacKenzie Bezos sells or transfers any of her Amazon stock holdings, the “proposed transferee” must enter into a voting agreement on the same terms and conditions granting a proxy to Jeff Bezos to vote those shares, per the filing.”

Jeff Bezos tweeted:

It also should be noted that MacKenzie is sitting on more than just her Amazon stock. The Bezoses own at least six properties across the U.S., including a Medina, Wash. mansion bought for $10 million in 1998. And in Washington state, divorcing parties don’t need to file property settlement agreements with the court, so the public may never know how much more she pockets from the real-estate holdings, or how her future endeavors could add to her wealth.

Division of Assets, Voting Power With AMZN Stock

Amazon stock holders have been worried that the sheer depth of the saga could at best prove distracting to the e-commerce company’s CEO, and at worst, disruptive to the company.

Like so many other organization, Amazon.com and its CEO are tightly linked. Their drive and vision are an important part of the corporate culture. Tesla and its chief Elon Musk are one example. Mark Zuckerberg and his company Facebook are another.

One equities analyst is going all out on his bullish thoughts about Amazon stock, saying the company has the makings of what it takes to command $5,000 a share by 2025. That would put the company’s valuation at $2.5 trillion. It would also make it the first ever to reach that level, according to Doug Kass, president of Seabreeze Partners Management.

In his note, which was highlighted by MarketWatch, Kass said AMZN shares could hit $3,000 by 2021, and then $5,000 by 2025. Those predictions mark gains of 63% and 172%, respectively, from Friday’s close at $1,837.28.

MacKenzie’s stake is worth about $35 billion at current prices, and her ex has a stake worth $108 billion. If Amazon shares make it to $5,000, her piece of the pie will be worth a cool $96.2 billion and Bezos’s — $300 billion.

The Amazon bull made the wild prediction that Amazon’s earnings per share (EPS) will beat forecasts by 10% or more for 2019, 2020, and 2021. He was especially happy about the company’s last forecast, which he says will mark the “biggest annual gain relative to expectations.”

Amazon’s EPS growth rate is 125.5% and KeyBanc analyst Edward Yruma has weighed in on AMZN as well, saying its shares have room to run to $2,100.

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