The pair announced the move in a joint statement on Wednesday on Twitter.

"After a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends," the couple said in the statement.

Amazon, formed 25 years ago, this week eclipsed Microsoft to become the world's most valuable listed company.

Jeff Bezos, 54, who founded Amazon, is the world's wealthiest man according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, with an estimated wealth of $137bn, some $45bn ahead of Bill Gates.

The 48-year-old MacKenzie Bezos is a novelist, the author of The Testing of Luther Albright (2005) and Traps (2013).

"We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we have been married to each other," the couple's statement said.

"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 pursuing ventures and adventures.

"Though the labels might be different, we remain a family, and we remain cherished friends."

The couple have four children, one of them adopted.

Amazon was worth $797bn (£634bn) when the US stock market closed on Monday, after rising 3.4% and moving past Microsoft, valued at $789bn.