Amazon's Jeff Bezos pays out $38bn to ex-wife Mackenzie in divorce settlement

Billionaire remains world's richest man despite his former partner awarded huge sum of Amazon stock

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Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, has had his divorce from his wife of 25 years finalised with a $38bn (£30bn) settlement.

Mackenzie Bezos was awarded 4 per cent of the online retailer’s outstanding stock, totalling 19.7 million shares, Bloomberg reported.

Ms Bezos has also allocated voting powers of her shares to her former husband “to support his continued contributions with the teams of these incredible companies", she said in a tweet in April.

The Amazon founder, who also owns The Washington Post, retains a 12 per cent state in the company.

He was awarded 75 per cent of the couple’s joint stock, worth $114.8bn, and remains the world’s richest person.

Ms Bezos joined the Giving Pledge with her new fortune, an initiative started by Warren Buffet and Bill Gates in 2010, where signatories give half their money to charity.

Her former husband has historically refused to join the pledge.