Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Breakups MacKenzie Bezos Is 3rd Richest Woman with $36 Billion After Divorce — Who Are the Top 2? MacKenzie Bezos and Jeff Bezos announced on Thursday that they had finalized their divorce By Helen Murphy Helen Murphy Helen Murphy is a former news writer at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2020. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 5, 2019 01:16PM EDT After Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife MacKenzie finalized their divorce, MacKenzie is walking away with roughly $36 billion — making her the third-richest woman in the world. In a tweet on Thursday, the 55-year-old Amazon founder — who is the richest man in the world worth an estimated $137 billion— revealed he and MacKenzie, 48, had officially parted ways on the friendliest of terms. Bezos is retaining 75 percent of the former couple’s Amazon shares, which is about 12 percent of the company, while MacKenzie is keeping roughly 4 percent, according to The New York Times. Sipa/AP According to calculations from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, MacKenzie’s $36 billion earnings after the divorce makes her the third-richest woman in the world. The publication reports that MacKenzie ranks behind the $54 billion fortune of L’Oréal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and the $44 billion held by Alice Walton, of the Walmart family. MacKenzie is nearly tied with the $37 billion net worth of Mars candy company heiress Jacqueline Badger Mars. Jeff Bezos’ Ex-Wife MacKenzie Is ‘Grateful’ as She Lands $36 Billion in Divorce from Amazon CEO In a statement on Twitter on Thursday, MacKenzie revealed details of what assets they had divided, which her ex-husband retweeted. “Grateful to have finished the process of dissolving my marriage with Jeff with support from each other and everyone who reached out to us in kindness, and looking forward to the next phase as co-parents and friends,” she wrote. She added, “Happy to be giving him all of my interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, and 75% of our Amazon stock plus voting control of my shares to support his continues contributions with the teams of these incredible companies.” “Excited about my own plans,” she continued. “Grateful for the past as I look forward to what comes next.” Her husband released his own statement, writing, “I’m so grateful to all my friends and family for reaching out with encouragement and love. It means more than you know. MacKenzie most of all.” “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,” he continued. “In all our work together, MacKenzie’s abilities have been on full display. She has been an extraordinary partner, ally, and mother. She is resourceful and brilliant and loving, and as our futures unroll, I know I’ll always be learning from her.” The former couple announced their divorce in January through a joint statement after 25 years of marriage and four children together. A source told PEOPLE in January, Bezos and MacKenzie “grew apart without even knowing it.” Added the insider, “Jeff is so busy in many areas where he is communicating with all kinds of people and traveling. On the other hand, MacKenzie is low-key, writing fiction and working on other projects while raising their children.” Jörg Carstensen/picture alliance via Getty MacKenzie, who has written two books, met Bezos after she graduated from Princeton University. The two were engaged within three months after their first date, and married within six, according to Vogue. How Jeff Bezos’ New Romance Could Affect His $137 Billion Divorce from Wife of 25 Years The news of their separation was quickly followed by a months-long investigation into Bezos and his relationship with news anchor Lauren Sanchez, 49, in January by the National Enquirer. The outlet alleged the two had traveled to “exotic destinations on his $65 million private jet.” The tabloid’s report contained photographs and text messages that Bezos had allegedly sent to Sanchez. Sanchez is also ending her marriage to her husband of 13 years, Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell. She and Whitesell have two children together, and she has an older son from a previous relationship.