Amazon founder and CEO is reportedly dating Lauren Sanchez
Jeff Bezos reportedly has a new love interest in his life.
According to multiple reports, the Amazon CEO has been secretly seeing former Good Day L.A. co-host Lauren Sanchez. The news of their alleged relationship comes just hours after Bezos announced that he and his wife MacKenzie Bezos were getting a divorce after 25 years of marriage.
"We want to make people aware of a development in our lives. As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends," the Washington Post owner said in a statement.
It continued, "We feel incredible lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for everyone one of the years we have been married to each other. If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again. We've had such a great life together as a married couple, and we also see wonderful futures ahead, as parents, friends, partners in ventures and projects, and as individuals pursing ventures and adventures."
Page Six reports Bezos and Sanchez became acquainted through her husband, Patrick Whitesell. He's the co-CEO of the major Hollywood agency WME.
According to the publication, Whitesell represents some of the biggest names in the industry, including Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski and Michelle Williams.
The Hollywood Reporter also confirms their relationship and reported that the Whitesells were regulars at Bezos' Seattle-area home. Bezos, Whitesell and Sanchez were all photographed together in 2016 at a party for the film Manchester by the Sea.
Whitesell and Sanchez apparently separated just recently. A source told Page Six the couple "officially separated in the fall."
They got married in 2005 and have two children together: a 10-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. She also has an 18-year-old son from her first husband, former NFL star Tony Gonzalez.
Sanchez runs her own company called Black Ops Aviation, which is an aerial filming company. She is a helicopter pilot and has worked on films such as Dunkirk and Miss Bala. The 49-year-old business owner also worked on a few videos for Blue Origin, which is Bezos' aerospace company.
The tech giant and MacKenzie have four children together. At a net worth of over $136 billion dollars, Bezos is the richest man in the world. Forbes' Assistant Managing Editor Luisa Kroll told E! News how much is at stake in their divorce.
"95 percent of his fortune is tied to Amazon stock. So his fortune goes up and down with the e retailer," she explained.
While he also heads Washington Post and Blue Origin, Amazon remains the true epicenter of his wealth because "nearly almost all of [his assets are] tied up" in the online retail company.
So what does MacKenzie get when all is said and done after being married to the richest man on the planet? "My assumption, especially since they live in Washington state where property is split between husband and wife, my assumption is that she is going to get a significant amount of shares," Kroll told us.
The Forbes editor predicted MacKenzie will "get shares in the company" because Bezos' wealth is tied in directly with Amazon stock. Kroll believes the shares will be in her name, but he will "probably still be voting with them."
Even in MacKenzie gets 50 percent of the shares, she would still be one of the wealthiest people in the world. Kroll explained, "If she were to get half, which is within the realm of possibility, she would be the 5th richest person in the world. She would by far be the richest woman in the world."
If so, she would surpass Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page.
Neither Bezos nor Whitesell has commented publicly about their rumored relationship.
