$140 billion at stake: Jeff Bezos' divorce should worry Amazon investors

The fate of such controlling shares in cases of divorce is, or should be, of intense interest to investors

Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, may be the first billionaire couple with a huge stake in an enormous technology company to announce their divorce.

They won’t be the last.

The surprise announcement last week that the Bezoses would divorce after 25 years of marriage instantly raised questions about the future of their 16 per cent, roughly $140 billion stake in Amazon. As its founder, chairman, chief executive and largest shareholder, Mr. Bezos exerts almost complete control over the company he created.

The big question is, now what? Will Ms. Bezos sell her portion of the family’s vast Amazon holdings? Will she seek