Spouses, ex of 10 richest billionaires in the world
Most of the billionaires have their partners with whom they form a great team. Some of the couples have been together since the beginning while some are fairly new relationships and some separated
Billionaires seem to have everything from fancy cars to mega mansions. There are nearly three thousand billionaires in the world and the number is growing every year. With the markets in flux due to coronavirus, each billionaire's net worth also fluctuates depending on the day.
Most of the billionaires have their partners with whom they form a great team. Some of the couples have been together since the beginning while some are fairly new relationships and some separated.
Here The Business Standard has listed spouses, ex and girlfriends of 10 richest billionaires in the world:
- Ex-wives of Jeff Bezos – US
Jeff Bezos, 56, is the richest man in the world, despite transferring a quarter of his Amazon stake to his ex-wife MacKenzie last summer, according to Forbes. He was worth $113 billion on March 18. Bezos founded ecommerce giant Amazon in 1994 and is still the CEO of the company.
Marital Status: In a relationship.
Affairs/Girlfriends:
- MacKenzie S Tuttle (Novelist, 1992-2019)
- Lauren Sanchez (Journalist, 2018-present)
Jeff and MacKenzie, who were once the richest couple in history, have officially split after 25 years of married life.
On January 9, 2019, Bezos and MacKenzie announced on Twitter their intent to divorce after a "long period" of separation. On April 4, 2019, the divorce was finalized, with Bezos keeping 75% of the couple's Amazon stock and MacKenzie getting the remaining 25% ($35.6 billion) in Amazon stock. However, Bezos would keep all of the couple's voting rights.
Bezos and his now ex-wife MacKenzie are the parents of four children: three sons, and one daughter adopted from China.
Bezos was in a relationship with Lauren Sanchez, a TV host and helicopter pilot who, along with her husband, had been friends with the Bezoses.
- Melinda, wife of Bill Gates
Bill Gates, 64, was worth $98 billion on March 18, according to Forbes. Gates and his wife Melinda chair the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is the largest private charitable foundation in the world, Forbes reported.
Marital Status: Married.
Gates married Melinda French on a golf course on the Hawaiian island of Lanai on January 1, 1994. They have three children.
- Hélène Mercier, wife of Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault, 71, and his family were worth $76 billion on March 18. Arnault is the CEO of luxury goods company LVMH, which includes Louis Vuitton and Sephora brands. Last year, the company bought Tiffany & Co. for $16.2 billion, which could be the largest luxury brand acquisition, Forbes reported.
Marital Status: Married.
Affairs/Girlfriends:
- Anne Dewavrin (Married: 1973, Divorced: 1990)
In 1973, Bernard married Anne Dewavrin. They had two children together, Delphine and Antoine. They separated in 1990.
Later, in 1991, Bernard married Hélène Mercier, a Canadian concert pianist, and they have three children.
His children Delphine, Antoine, Alexandre and Frédéric all have official roles in brands controlled by Arnault, along with his niece Stephanie Watine Arnault.
- Astrid Menks, wife of Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett, 89, was worth $67.5 billion on March 18. Buffett is one of the most successful investors of all time, according to Forbes. He also runs Berkshire Hathaway, which owns more than 60 companies. Previously, Buffett was the third-wealthiest person in the world before Bernard Arnault took his spot this year.
Marital Status: Married.
Affairs/Girlfriends:
- Susan Buffett (Divorced: 1977)
Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Chairman, Warren Buffett has been married twice—first to Susan Buffett, and now to his current spouse, Astrid Menks.
Buffett and Susan wed in 1952, had three children and were married for around 50 years. The couple began living separately in 1977, although they remained married until Susan Buffett's death in July 2004.
The pair were separated in 1977 but remained close friends.
In 2006, on his 76th birthday, Buffett married his longtime companion, Astrid Menks, 74, who was then 60 years old—she had lived with him since his wife's departure to San Francisco in 1977.
- Ex-wives and girlfriend of Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison, 75, was worth $59 billion on March 18. In 1977, he founded Oracle, a software company and today he serves as the chairman of the board and the chief technology officer, according to Forbes.
Marital Status: In a relationship.
Affairs/Girlfriends:
- Adda Quinn (Married 1967 and divorce 1974)
- Nancy Wheeler Jenkins (Married 1977 and divorce 1978)
- Barbara Boothe (Married 1983 and divorce 1986)
- Melanie Craft (Married 2003 and divorce 2010)
- Nikita Kahn (in a relationship)
Ellison has been married and they four times.
Ellison and Adda Quinn married in 1967 and separated in 1974.
Nancy Wheeler Jenkins married him in 1977. They married six months before Ellison founded Software Development Laboratories. In 1978, the couple divorced. Wheeler gave up any claim on her husband's company for $500.
Ellison and Barbara Boothe stayed together from 1983 to 1986. Boothe was a former receptionist at Relational Software Inc. (RSI). They had two children, David and Megan, who are film producers at Skydance Media and Annapurna Pictures, respectively.
With Melanie Craft, a romance novelist, Ellison stayed from from 2003 to 2010. They married on 18 December, 2003, at his Woodside estate. Ellison's friend Steve Jobs, former CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc., was the official wedding photographer, and Representative Tom Lantos officiated. They divorced in 2010.
Nikita Kahn is an American actress, model, businesswoman and animal rights activist. She is best recognised as the longtime girlfriend of Larry Ellison.
- Flora Pérez, wife Amancio Ortega – Spain
Amancio Ortega, 84, was the wealthiest clothing retailer in the world on March 18, with a net worth of $55.1 billion, according to Forbes. In 1975 he and his ex-wife Rosalia Mera founded Inditex, which is best known for the fashion chain Zara, Forbes reported.
Marital Status: Married.
Affairs/Girlfriends:
- Rosalía Mera (Married 1966 and divorce 1986)
Ortega is very private about his personal life.
He married Rosalia Mera in 1966, the couple divorced in 1986. Mera died in August 2013 at the age of 69.
Amancio Ortega married his second wife Flora Pérez in 2001. They have three children.
- Priscilla Cha, wife of Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg, 35, was worth $54.7 billion on March 18. Zuckerberg founded social media site Facebook in 2004.
Marital Status: Married.
The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has updated his Facebook status to announce he has married his long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan. The wedding came a day after the multi-billion dollar floatation of his company.
The couple met in 2003 at a frat party, and tied the knot in 2012, one day after Facebook's IPO.
- Lynne McNabb Walton, wife of Jim Walton
The three most prominent members of Walton family (Jim, Rob, and Alice Walton) have consistently been in the top twenty of the Forbes 400 list since 2001.
Jim Walton, 71, was the richest Walton on March 18 with a net worth of $54.6 billion. According to Forbes, Jim Walton gave away $1.2 billion in Walmart in June last year, but kept his wealth because of a 44 percent stake in Arvest Bank.
Marital Status: Married.
Jim Walton is married to Lynne McNabb Walton. The couple has four children together.
- Ex-husband of Alice Walton
Alice Walton, 70, was worth $54.4 billion on March 18. She is Sam Walton's only daughter and is also the richest woman on Forbes' 2020 list.
Marital Status: Divorced.
Walton married a prominent Louisiana investment banker in 1974 at age 24, but they were divorced two and a half years later. According to Forbes, she married "the contractor who built her swimming pool" soon after, "but they, too, divorced quickly.
- Melani Lowman-Walton, wife of Rob Walton
Rob Walton, 75, was worth about $54.1 billion on March 18, according to Forbes. Walton is the eldest son of the founder of Walmart, Sam Walton, and served as the chairman of the company from 1992 until 2015.
Marital Status: Married.
Affairs/Girlfriends:
- First Wife name unknown
- Carolyn Funk (Divorced 2000)
Walton had three children when he divorced his first wife. Later, he married Carolyn Funk. The couple filed for divorce in 2000.
He married his third wife Melani Lowman-Walton in 2005.
