MacKenzie Bezos to donate half her $35bn fortune to charity
MacKenzie Bezos (48), the ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos (55), has become the newest billionaire to sign The Giving Pledge - a philanthropy group of the world's wealthiest people. On Tuesday, Bezos, who is also a successful novelist, signed off at least half of her $35bn (Rs. 2,44,273 crore) fortune to charity. Read on to find out more details.
I have a disproportionate amount of money to share: Bezos
In a letter published by The Giving Pledge, Bezos writes, "There are lots of resources each of us can pull from our safes to share with others - time, attention, knowledge, patience, creativity, talent, effort, humor, compassion." Bezos says she has a "disproportionate amount of money to share," adding that she "will keep at it (philanthropy) until the safe is empty."
Bezos received 4% Amazon stake after divorce
To recall, in April, Bezos had announced a record-breaking divorce settlement with her husband of 25 years, Jeff, receiving 4% of stake in Amazon worth $35bn. Once the divorce comes through, Bezos will become the third-richest woman in the world. Her husband continues to hold a 16% stake in the online retail giant and has a net worth of $151bn, according to Forbes.
Jeff shared a congratulatory tweet for ex-wife
What is The Giving Pledge?
The Giving Pledge is an initiative started by billionaire philanthropists, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, back in 2010 with 40 of America's wealthiest. By signing the Pledge, wealthy individuals agree to donate more than half their net worth to charity.
18 other billionaires signed the pledge with Bezos
Along with Bezos, 18 other billionaires signed The Giving Pledge including WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, cryptocurrency company Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and hedge fund billionaires Paul Tudor Jones and David Harding taking the total number of signatories beyond 200. Other signatories include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, investor Richard Branson, and Robert F Smith, who recently payed-off student debt of 400 Morehouse graduates.
These are the only two women richer than Bezos
With Bezos receiving 4% of Amazon's stock, the only two women richer than her are L'Oréal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers who has a net worth of $53.6bn (Rs. 3,74,176cr), and Walmart heiress Alice Walton of Walmart fame with a $47.1bn (Rs. 3,28,800cr) fortune.
