(Bloomberg) —
A wayward chief executive officer, a tabloid newspaper determined to humiliate the world’s richest person, a callously disloyal brother and dramatic allegations of cyberespionage and international intrigue.
The events surrounding the divorce of Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott in early 2019 were almost too far-fetched to believe. A day after they announced the dissolution of their 25-year marriage with a tweet, the National Enquirer published an explosive story, detailing Bezos’s extramarital relationship with Lauren Sanchez, who was married to one of the most powerful executives in Hollywood. The months-long saga captivated the media world, initiated dueling lawsuits and cast a fog of ambiguity around the methods the National Enquirer used to land one of the most contentious scoops in its history.
The sixth episode of Foundering: The Amazon Story tells the evolution of Bezos’ personal life and its impact on the tech giant he founded. He once wove the story of his marriage and family into Amazon.com Inc.’s mythology. But the scandal around his new relationship would unsettle employees and augur a big change in how he would run the company — leading to his ultimate decision to step back from the role of CEO.
Read more: The inside story of how Jeff Bezos beat the tabloids
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