MacKenzie Bezos just took a subtle jab at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos by vowing to do something he's actively avoided for years
- MacKenzie Bezos has signed the Giving Pledge, a commitment to donate more than half of her almost $37 billion in assets to charity.
- Bezos became one of the richest women in the world in April after finalizing the terms of her divorce from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
- Jeff Bezos is the only American among the world's five richest people to not join the Giving Pledge.
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MacKenzie Bezos announced on Tuesday that she has joined the philanthropic effort to pledge more than half of her wealth during her lifetime or in her will, known as the Giving Pledge.
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.
"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 her letter. "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."
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 cofounder Reid Hoffman.
Notably, one of the richest tech executives in the world has refused to sign on to the Giving Pledge: Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world with a net worth of $131 billion, is the only American in Forbes' ranking of world's richest to not join onto the charitable pledge. His latest effort to give away to charity was a $2 billion donation last September, which reportedly represented about 1.3% of his net worth at the time.
Still, 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 posted to Twitter. "Her letter is so beautiful. Go get 'em MacKenzie."
MacKenzie and Jeff Bezos announced in early April they had finalized 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.
MacKenzie Bezos was one of the first employees at Amazon, and the author of two award-winning novels. Together, MacKenzie and Jeff Bezos had four kids over their 25-year marriage.