MacKenzie Bezos has made the Forbes' Billionaires List for the first time, with an estimated net worth of $36 billion. This makes her the fourth-richest woman in the world. About this time one year ago, Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos announced that he and his wife, MacKenzie Bezos, were getting a divorce after 25 years of marriage via Twitter.
When Jeff Bezos told his then-wife MacKenzie about his idea for a new company, she was immediately on board. Bezos traveled with her husband to Seattle, where she worked for the Amazon as one of the first employees and as an accountant.
Under Washington state law, if the couple files for divorce there, all assets and debts accrued during their marriage will be considered owned by both husband and wife. At the time, Jeff was worth $113 billion, which could of left MacKenzie with $56 billion and the world’s richest woman, but MacKenzie took the high road.
During the settlement, MacKenzie received 25% of Jeff's Amazon stake, or 4% of the company, while granting Jeff all of her interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin.
For the third year in a row, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has been named the richest man in the world. According to Forbes‘ annual rankings of global billionaires, the business magnate is worth $113 billion — an $18 billion drop from the prior year.
At the end of January and in early February, Bezos made headlines for unloading more than $1.8 billion worth of Amazon stock. According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the exec sold 905,456 shares totaling $1.84 billion.
He has made similar moves in the past, selling nearly $3 billion in July and August 2019, and revealed that he sheds roughly $1 billion in stock each year to secure liquid assets to support his space venture, Blue Origin.
Recently, Amazon has been taking some heat.
Several weeks ago, Amazon workers at a Staten Island warehouse walked out to protest the company's lack of safety measures pertaining to COVID-19. Chris Smalls, a management assistant, who managed the protest was fired as a result.
A second protest occurred the other day. This protest was about company’s handling of the virus amid complaints that 25 people there have tested positive for the deadly illness.
NOTE: Amazon does not provide unpaid time off for hourly workers who feel symptoms or may have sick people at home.
Despite the negative press, Amazon is hiring 100,000 full-time and part-time workers to meet a surge in demand from customers who are shopping online.
The COVID-19 is going to cause an even bigger divide between the “haves” and the “have nots.”
Overall, the Markets are done quite a bit, but Amazon has barely declined.
This post is my personal opinion. I’m not a financial advisor, this isn't financial advice. Do your own research before making investment decisions.
Posted via Steemleo
