Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos has announced that he will transfer about 4 percent of the company’s stock to his wife, MacKenzie, most likely in early July.
The couple is in the process of finishing up a well-publicized divorce that was announced in January.
Forbes reports those shares are worth about $35 billion as of early Thursday afternoon. That total would make her the third-richest woman in the world, behind L’Oréal’s Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, with an estimated worth of $52.9 billion, and Walmart’s Alice Walton, who is worth $45 billion.
MacKenzie Bezos would rank as 26th-richest person in the world, one ahead of Nike’s Phil Knight.
After the settlement, Jeff Bezos will remain the world’s richest person, with a net worth above $110 billion, per early Thursday afternoon stock prices. Bill Gates is the world’s second-wealthiest individual, boasting an estimated $99.5 billion fortune.
In a statement posted to his Twitter account, Jeff Bezos said, “In all our work together, MacKenzie’s abilities have been on full display. She has been an extraordinary partner, ally, and mother.”
The couple have four children, three sons and a daughter.
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 4, 2019
MacKenzie Bezos responded with her own tweet.
— MacKenzie Bezos (@mackenziebezos) April 4, 2019