The novelist and founder of anti-bullying group Bystander Revolution, is one of nineteen new signatories to the Giving Pledge, a campaign founded by billionaire philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010.
The Giving Pledge encourages the world’s richest people to commit to giving at least half of their fortune to charity.
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, Michael Bloomberg, Brian Acton and Elon Musk are among signatories.
MacKenzie Bezos finalised her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in April and quickly committed to the pledge.
“We each come by the gifts we have to offer by an infinite series of influences and lucky breaks we can never fully understand,” Bezos wrote in a statement posted to the Giving Pledge 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.”
MacKenzie is going to be amazing and thoughtful and effective at philanthropy, and I’m proud of her. Her letter is so beautiful. Go get ‘em MacKenzie. https://t.co/S2gLLBQyRQ
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) May 28, 2019
When she and Jeff Bezos announced their divorce settlement in April, MacKenzie Bezos was listed as the world’s 22nd richest person, after acquiring a 4 per cent stake in Amazon. Her individual fortune is worth approximately $US36 billion.
Jeff Bezos, comes in a the top of the Forbes list of world billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $US131 billion. He is not one of the 203 signatories to the Giving Pledge.
He has given $US2 billion, less than 2% of his wealth, to the Bezos Day One Fund to help address homelessness and educational needs of low income families.
MacKenzie Bezos met Jeff Bezos in 1992 before Amazon was founded. She helped develop the business plan and undertook early accounting work at the company. Today, after their 25 year relationship and four children, the company is worth nearly $900 billion.