This is the second marriage for both. Lauren was previously married to talent agent Patrick Whitesell, with whom she shares two children. Their divorce was finalized in 2019, about a year after rumors surfaced that she had begun a relationship with Jeff. She also has a son with former NFL player Tony Gonzalez. Unfortunately, a lot has changed since 2019 in the upper echelon of the world’s wealth rankings. Jeff’s current $244 billion fortune isn’t enough to make him the richest person alive. Or even the second richest. Get out your tiniest violin—because poor Jeff is currently the third richest person in the world, behind Mark Zuckerberg ($258 billion) and Elon Musk ($367 billion). However. Had Jeff never gotten divorced and handed over the most expensive divorce settlement in human history, today he would be the world’s #1 richest person by a comfortable margin. So just how much richer would he be? Let’s break it down.
What Could Have Been
So let’s fast-forward to the present.
Jeff’s current 9% stake is worth about $216 billion Add another $28 billion or so in cash and other assets, and you get his estimated net worth of $244 billion
$384 billion
$400 billion
Love Wins… But At What Cost???
Now, to be clear: Jeff Bezos doesn’t appear to be hurting. He’s still worth $244 billion. He still owns one of the most valuable companies on Earth. He just got married on a private Italian island surrounded by celebrities, yachts, and enough champagne to flood the canals of Venice. By all accounts, he’s living exactly the life he wants. But it’s hard to get over the fact that getting divorced cost Jeff Bezos $140 billion at today’s figures, or $156 billion at the all-time high numbers. Either way, it’s roughly his ENTIRE net worth at the time of the divorce. He essentially gave up a fortune that, on its own today, would be the 10th or 9th largest on the planet. Or think about it like this. Let’s say we had a time machine and we went back to 2018. And let’s say we attended the same party where Jeff and Lauren first crossed paths. And let’s say we pulled Jeff aside and explained to him that he had three options:
Door #1: Stay married and keep $140 billion. Door #2: Stay married and spend $140 billion on whatever you want. Set it on fire. Maybe donate a few billion, but for the most part, just set $140 billion on fire. Door #3: Pursue a relationship with Lauren. Have the most expensive divorce in history and watch $140 billion evaporate in thin air. But a few years from now, be married to Lauren.
If he believed you were being 100% serious and had seen the future, which door do you reallllllly think he would choose? Which door would you choose? Anyways. Congrats to Jeff and Lauren! Oh, one more thing…
MacKenzie’s Net Worth
As I type this article, MacKenzie Scott’s net worth is $40 billion. A natural question might be: Why is she not worth $140 billion? And as for the difference between $140 billion and $96 billion, that’s explained by Jeff’s stock sales over the years.
