Mackenzie Bezos makes pledge to give away at least half of $37 billion fortune away

Following her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos earlier this year, MacKenzie Bezos received a stake in the retail giant that puts her net worth at almost $37 billion, according to current prices.

MacKenzie has become the latest person to join The Giving Pledge, an organization created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett that invites billionaires to commit to donating more than half of their fortune to philanthropy or charitable causes either during their lifetime or in their will.

The Giving Pledge, started almost a decade ago by Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, is signed by some of the wealthiest families and individuals in the world. Other tech billionaires who have joined the pledge include Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Airbnb founder Brian Chesky, and LinkedIn co-founder, Reid Hoffman.

“No drive has more positive ripple effects than the desire to be of service. There are lots of resources each of us can pull from our safes to share with others — time, attention, knowledge, patience, creativity, talent, effort, humour, compassion,” MacKenzie Bezos, 49, says in a 25 May letter on the organisation’s website.

“In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I have a disproportionate amount of money to share. My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty,” she added.

Jeff Bezos, who is one of the richest tech executives in the world that has refused to sign on to the Giving Pledge: Jeff Bezos, took to Twitter on Tuesday to praise his ex-wife for her Giving Pledge commitment.

“MacKenzie is going to be amazing and thoughtful and effective at philanthropy, and I’m proud of her,” Bezos posts to Twitter. “Her letter is so beautiful. Go get ’em MacKenzie.”

Back in April, MacKenzie and Jeff Bezos announced they had finalised the terms of their divorce. Under the agreement, MacKenzie Bezos granted the Amazon CEO all her interests in The Washington Post and Blue Origin, as well as 75% of the Amazon stock they owned and voting control over the shares she retained.

The terms of the divorce left MacKenzie Bezos with a stake in Amazon worth almost $37 billion, placing her in the top five among the world’s richest women.