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What to know about Jeff Bezos' first wife, MacKenzie Scott

What to know about Jeff Bezos' first wife, MacKenzie Scott

USA Today3 hours ago

In true billionaire style, Jeff Bezos, 61, has officially married his second wife, Lauren Sánchez, 55, in a three-day wedding extravaganza in Venice, Italy.
The Amazon founder tied the knot with the journalist on June 27 in a star-studded ceremony that featured a guest list with Academy Award winners, fellow billionaires, Tom Brady, the queen of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana are among the 200-250 guests, according to Reuters.
While all eyes are on the new mega-wealthy pair tying the knot, many are curious to learn more about the Amazon founder's first marriage with influential philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, 55.
The pair met in 1992, while both were working at New York City hedge fund management firm D. E. Shaw & Co, according to the New York Times. The two went on to become partners for over two decades before splitting and moving on to new marriages.
Divorced in 2019, the pair remain on good terms as coparents after their amicable split.
Here's what to know about their marriage.
When did Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott get married?
Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott married in 1993, a year after meeting as coworkers and moving to New York City together.
When did Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott divorce?
Bezos and Scott announced they had separated in 2019 through a joint statement shared on social media. The ex-couple wrote that they felt lucky to have found each other and had no regrets about their 25-year marriage.
"If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again," they wrote in a Jan. 9, 2019 post on X (then-Twitter). "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 pursuing ventures and adventures."
pic.twitter.com/Gb10BDb0x0
How long was Jeff Bezos first marriage?
Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott were married for 25 years from 1993 to 2019.
How much money did MacKenzie Scott get from Jeff Bezos as a result of the divorce?
In their divorce settlement, Scott received 25% of their shared Amazon stake, valued at roughly $36 billion.
Bezos retained 75% of the couple's Amazon stock, in addition to her voting control in the company, as previously reported by USA TODAY.
The settlement made Scott one of the wealthiest women in the world.
How many children do Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott have?
Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott share four children together, including their oldest son, Preston Bezos, two other sons, and one daughter, whose names or birth dates have never been made public.
What is MacKenzie Scott's net worth?
As of June 27, 2025, MacKenzie Scott's net worth is estimated to be 31.5 billion, according to Forbes.
What does MacKenzie Scott do?
MacKenzie Scott is a billionaire philanthropist and award-winning novelist.
She is the author of the 2005 novel "The Testing of Luther Albright" and the 2013 novel "Traps."
Post-divorce, the Amazon co-founder pledged to give away the majority of her wealth. She has given away more than $19 billion in donations to date through her foundation, Yield Giving, and has become known as a rapid, "no-strings-attached" philanthropist – in contrast to Bezos' slower pace of giving.
She has donated to more than 2,000 nonprofits over the past six years, proving to have a "transformational effect" on said organizations, a February study said.
Scott is also part of The Giving Pledge – founded by Warren Buffett, Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates – a commitment by some of the world's wealthiest philanthropists to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes, either during their lifetimes or through their wills.
How many times has Jeff Bezos been married?
Jeff Bezos has married twice, including his 25-year marriage to Scott and his new wife, Lauren Sánchez.
Has MacKenzie Scott remarried?
After her first marriage to Bezos, Scott married Seattle science teacher Dan Jewett in 2021, after first meeting at her children's school, according to the Washington Post.
Scott filed for divorce in September 2022, which was finalized in January 2023.
How much is Jeff Bezos worth?
Bezos' net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $226.7 billion. He is currently the Executive Chair for Amazon, after stepping down as Amazon's president and CEO in 2021.

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What happened on Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's big wedding day
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It's been both the most public and secretive wedding of the year. On Friday, the main event of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's three-day-long Venetian extravaganza culminated in a private ceremony held on the secluded, historic San Giorgio Maggiore island in the San Marco sestiere. In the afternoon, the some 200 members of the celebrity guest list, including the Kardashian-Jenner family, Bill Gates, Karlie Kloss, Oprah Winfrey and Usher were all photographed stepping onto water taxis to ferry them to the festivities, but their visibility ended there, with guests seemingly adhering to an apparent social media blackout once inside each of the weekend's events. The ceremony ended discreetly, except for a signal from the fashion world — a Vogue digital cover offering a first look at Sanchez's gown. After much speculation (and not-so-subtle sightings of designer Domenico Dolce in Venice), it revealed her dress was a custom design by Dolce & Gabbana and was a year and a half in the making. The high-necked lace corseted gown had 180 silk chiffon-covered priest buttons dotting the front. Over the course of the night, per Vogue, she had two more outfit changes: a sweetheart-neck dress — another reference, this time to the 1946 film 'Gilda' — for the wedding dinner, and an intricate cocktail dress featuring 175,000 crystals by Oscar de la Renta. San Giorgio Maggiore is known for its gleaming marble Renaissance-era basilicas, designed by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio. But there may have been another, more pragmatic reason the couple opted for the island: privacy. After ongoing protests in the city — including the threat of canal blockades, guerilla-style banners and uncanny Bezos mannequins — allegedly forced Sanchez and Bezos to change one of the weekend's locations at the last minute, the security and inaccessibility of the island was reportedly a key factor in their decision. Venice's Ministry of Tourism has estimated the celebrations will generate almost 68% of the city's annual tourism turnover in just one weekend — but protestors have rallied against what they perceive to be a takeover of the idyllic Italian archipelago city by some of the world's wealthiest people. During the ceremony, the Amazon-founder billionaire and the former journalist likely exchanged rings symbolically. It remains unclear when the couple legally wed (or if they already have, prior to this week, in the US). A spokesperson for the mayor's office in Venice had told CNN on Thursday that the city did not receive an official request from the couple, meaning the events this week are ceremonial and will not be legally binding. Shortly after the Vogue photos were released, Sanchez changed her Instagram account handle to Lauren Sanchez Bezos. Prev Next Before the celebration, Sanchez herself made her way to San Giorgio Maggiore dressed in a '60s-inspired tailored white skirt suit from Dior with a printed silk scarf wrapped Hepburn-style around her head, Jimmy Choo heels and an Hermès Kelly handbag. She blew kisses to photographers as she stepped into a water taxi. Guests have mingled all weekend wearing an array of luxury designers, including vintage Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta and Versace. On the way to San Giorgio Maggiore, Kylie Jenner wore a powder blue long lace-up corset gown, Kim Kardashian chose a slick dark toffee-colored dress and Oprah opted for a draped pink mermaid silhouette. Though details of the wedding performers, like much else, were largely kept under wraps, Italian media reported that Matteo Bocelli — son of Andrea Bocelli, the revered Italian tenor who performed at both Kim and Kourtney Kardashian's weddings in 2014 and 2022, respectively — began the evening by singing 'Can't Help Falling in Love' by Elvis Presley. And if Bocelli made guests misty-eyed, then Lady Gaga — reportedly set to close out the final day of festivities on Saturday — will no doubt bring the party. The pop mega-star is expected to perform at Venice's former medieval shipyard, the Arsenale — which has been modernized with cultural spaces and hosts the annual Venice Biennale. This story will be updated.

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What happened on Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's big wedding day

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What happened at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's big wedding day
What happened at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's big wedding day

CNN

timean hour ago

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What happened at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's big wedding day

It's been both the most public and secretive wedding of the year. On Friday, the main event of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's three-day-long Venetian extravaganza culminated in a private ceremony held on the secluded, historic San Giorgio Maggiore island in the San Marco sestiere. In the afternoon, the some 200 members of the celebrity guest list, including the Kardashian-Jenner family, Bill Gates, Karlie Kloss, Oprah Winfrey and Usher were all photographed stepping onto water taxis to ferry them to the festivities, but their visibility ended there, with guests seemingly adhering to an apparent social media blackout once inside each of the weekend's events. The ceremony ended discreetly, except for a signal from the fashion world — a Vogue digital cover offering a first look at Sanchez's gown. After much speculation (and not-so-subtle sightings of designer Domenico Dolce in Venice), it revealed her dress was a custom design by Dolce & Gabbana and was a year and a half in the making. The high-necked lace corseted gown had 180 silk chiffon-covered priest buttons dotting the front. Over the course of the night, per Vogue, she had two more outfit changes: a sweetheart-neck dress — another reference, this time to the 1946 film 'Gilda' — for the wedding dinner, and an intricate cocktail dress featuring 175,000 crystals by Oscar de la Renta. San Giorgio Maggiore is known for its gleaming marble Renaissance-era basilicas, designed by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio. But there may have been another, more pragmatic reason the couple opted for the island: privacy. After ongoing protests in the city — including the threat of canal blockades, guerilla-style banners and uncanny Bezos mannequins — allegedly forced Sanchez and Bezos to change one of the weekend's locations at the last minute, the security and inaccessibility of the island was reportedly a key factor in their decision. Venice's Ministry of Tourism has estimated the celebrations will generate almost 68% of the city's annual tourism turnover in just one weekend — but protestors have rallied against what they perceive to be a takeover of the idyllic Italian archipelago city by some of the world's wealthiest people. During the ceremony, the Amazon-founder billionaire and the former journalist likely exchanged rings symbolically. It remains unclear when the couple legally wed (or if they already have, prior to this week, in the US). A spokesperson for the mayor's office in Venice had told CNN on Thursday that the city did not receive an official request from the couple, meaning the events this week are ceremonial and will not be legally binding. Shortly after the Vogue photos were released, Sanchez changed her Instagram account handle to Lauren Sanchez Bezos. Prev Next Before the celebration, Sanchez herself made her way to San Giorgio Maggiore dressed in a '60s-inspired tailored white skirt suit from Dior with a printed silk scarf wrapped Hepburn-style around her head, Jimmy Choo heels and an Hermès Kelly handbag. She blew kisses to photographers as she stepped into a water taxi. Guests have mingled all weekend wearing an array of luxury designers, including vintage Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta and Versace. On the way to San Giorgio Maggiore, Kylie Jenner wore a powder blue long lace-up corset gown, Kim Kardashian chose a slick dark toffee-colored dress and Oprah opted for a draped pink mermaid silhouette. Though details of the wedding performers, like much else, were largely kept under wraps, Italian media reported that Matteo Bocelli — son of Andrea Bocelli, the revered Italian tenor who performed at both Kim and Kourtney Kardashian's weddings in 2014 and 2022, respectively — began the evening by singing 'Can't Help Falling in Love' by Elvis Presley. And if Bocelli made guests misty-eyed, then Lady Gaga — reportedly set to close out the final day of festivities on Saturday — will no doubt bring the party. The pop mega-star is expected to perform at Venice's former medieval shipyard, the Arsenale — which has been modernized with cultural spaces and hosts the annual Venice Biennale. This story will be updated.

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