Jeff Bezos’s Ex Is Giving Most Of Her $36 Billion Fortune to Charity

Twitter/MacKenzie Bezos

Take note… THIS is what being rich ought to look like — at least for most billionaires.

The ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Bezos, has pledged half her fortune to charity by signing onto an initiative that was started by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

The initiative calls for whoever signs it (19 in total so far, though it’s attracted support from over 200 individuals and families) to give away more than half their fortune during their lifetimes or in their wills to charity. Of course, the initiative is geared towards the super-wealthy, i.e. billionaires.

It’s called the “Giving Pledge” campaign and it was started in 2010 by Warren and Bill, two of the wealthiest men in the world.

“We each come by the gifts we have to offer by an infinite series of influences and lucky breaks we can never fully understand,” MacKenzie said in a statement. “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.”

MacKenzie’s personal fortune is now worth an estimated $36.6 billion, following her divorce. She ranks 22nd on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Her former husband, however, has a net worth around $114 billion.

Among the 19 people who signed the pledge are Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp; Paul Sciarra, the co-founder of Pinterest; and Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange.

This makes our heart warm! Good on you, MacKenzie.