• Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said he and his wife, MacKenzie, have decided to divorce after 25 years of marriage. Bezos, one of the world's richest men, made the announcement on Twitter on Wednesday. An Amazon spokesman confirmed the divorce. The two married in 1993 after they met at hedge fund D.E. Shaw in New York, where they both worked. They left New York on a road trip to Amazon's eventual headquarters in Seattle, with her driving and him writing up the business plan for what would become the world's largest online retailer. Bezos, 54, whose stake in Amazon is worth more than $130 billion, announced last year that he and his wife were setting up a $2 billion charitable fund to open preschools in low-income neighborhoods and give money to nonprofits that help homeless families. A note posted on Bezos' Twitter account Wednesday said the two of them will remain "cherished friends," as well as "partners" in ventures and projects. They have four children together. "If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again," said the note, which was signed "Jeff & MacKenzie." A divorce could reshape the global wealth ranking. If the couple evenly split their fortune, it would leave MacKenzie, 48, with $69 billion, making her the world's richest woman. It would also make Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, currently worth $92.5 billion, the planet's richest person once again.
• Kevin Hart said Wednesday that he won't be hosting the Academy Awards. "No," was his response when asked during an appearance on ABC's Good Morning America. "I'm not hosting the Oscars this year," Hart told Michael Strahan, one of the morning show's hosts, citing the lack of preparation time for the Feb. 24 ceremony and the shoot schedule for his next film, a sequel to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. He added: "If I do something, I want to be able to give it my all and make sure that the production is a great representation of me and my talent. I can't do that right now." While Hart added that it's "hard to predict what can happen," he said he doesn't want "people to think there's a thing about me and the academy." The motion picture academy has not named a replacement host for its awards show since Hart backed away days after being named host last month, when some anti-gay tweets he posted a decade ago resurfaced. Talk of Hart being reinstated as host was ignited after talk show host Ellen DeGeneres implored him to reconsider his withdrawal, saying she had vouched for him. Although Hart earlier this week on his Sirius XM show, Straight from the Hart, again apologized to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, he told Strahan that he's not giving any more explanations. Hart said, "I'm just done."
A Section on 01/10/2019