Mackenzie Bezos Has Pledged To Give Half Of Her $36 Billion To Charity, Jeff Bezos Still Hasn't

Mackenzie Bezos, thanks to her recent divorce from Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, now the third-richest woman in the world and ranks 22nd on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

She's not just going to sit on that though, having just signed up for the Giving Pledge.

Images courtesy: Reuters

Just a couple of months after finalizing her divorce from the world's richest man, Mackenzie has joined the Giving Pledge, which encourages the richest people in the world to donate a majority of their wealth to charities, either throughout their lives or in their wills.

Launched by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates back in 2010, it currently has about 204 of the richest individuals and families as its signatories. Mackenzie joins that list, with an estimated net worth of about $36.6 billion, and has pledged to give away half of that to charitable causes.

In a letter she penned to make the announcement, Mackenzie said she has 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 wrote. She was one of 19 new signatories for the pledge announced this week. The others included WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, Pinterest co-founder Paul Sciarra, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

"The generosity of this group is a reflection of the inspiration we take from the many millions of people who work quietly and effectively to create a better world for others, often at great personal sacrifice," Buffett said in a statement at the event.

Meanwhile, the Amazon CEO lauded his ex-wife's decision to donate half her wealth. "MacKenzie is going to be amazing and thoughtful and effective at philanthropy, and I'm proud of her," he said on Twitter.

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

¡ª Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) May 28, 2019

It's too bad then that the still-richest man in the world, worth an estimated $114 billion, has not yet joined the Giving Pledge, and has made no indication he ever will.