MacKenzie Bezos to donate half of $37bn fortune to charity

MacKenzie Bezos is set to donate half of her $37 billion fortune to charity.

The novelist and ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos plans to join the Giving Pledge, the philanthropic commitment that sees the world's richest people give at least half of their wealth to those in need. In a statement, she said that she had a "disproportionate amount of money to share." "We each come by the gifts we have to offer by an infinite series of influences and lucky breaks we can never fully understand," she said. "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." MacKenzie and Jeff divorced earlier this year after 25 years of marriage. The 49-year-old acquired four percent of Amazon's shares in the settlement. She is now estimated to be worth upwards of $36.6 billion. MacKenzie went on to say that she sees "tremendous value" in the act of giving and that over the years, writing her own work and reading others had inspired her to act in the favour of others. "And sure enough, something greater rises up every time we give," she said.

"The easy breathing of a friend we sit with when we had other plans, the relief on our child’s face when we share the story of our own mistake, laughter at the well-timed joke we tell to someone who is crying, the excitement of the kids in the school we send books to, the safety of the families who sleep in the shelters we fund. "These immediate results are only the beginning. Their value keeps multiplying and spreading in ways we may never know."

Jeff Bezos shared MacKenzie's statement on Twitter yesterday. The CEO and investor said that he was proud of his ex-wife and her kind words. "MacKenzie is going to be amazing and thoughtful and effective at philanthropy, and I’m proud of her," he wrote. "Her letter is so beautiful. Go get ‘em MacKenzie."