Telegraph
MacKenzie Bezos has pledged to give away half her fortune to charity just months after finalising her divorce from Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and chief executive.
Ms Bezos, an American novelist, was among the latest signatories to the Giving Pledge, which was set up by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010. The pledge sees billionaires commit to donate at least half their wealth to charitable causes.
Earlier this year Ms Bezos became the third richest woman in the world, following a divorce settlement with Amazon's Jeff Bezos which saw her walk away with $35.6bn (£28bn).
Speaking about the decision to sign up to the campaign, Ms Bezos said she had 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 said.
Ms Bezos's move is likely to prompt questions over why her ex-husband, the richest person in the world, is yet to sign up to the Giving Pledge.
In the past, Mr Bezos has faced criticism over how much philanthropic work he is involved with, and, following questions from The New York Times in 2017, he publicly asked for ideas on how he could donate to charitable causes, saying he was "thinking about a philanthropy strategy that is the opposite of how I mostly spend my time — working on the long term".
"For philanthropy, I find I’m drawn to the other end of the spectrum: the right now," he said. "If you have any ideas, just reply to this tweet."
Last September, a year after asking for ideas, Mr Bezos launched a new fund, committing an initial $2bn to projects including helping the homeless and setting up new pre-schools.
His wealth is thought to currently stand at around $114bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Commenting on Ms Bezos's move on Tuesday on Twitter, Mr Bezos said: "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."
Ms Bezos was among a host of further billionaires to sign up to the Giving Pledge this week, taking the number of signatories to more than 200 with names including high-profile technology bosses such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton.
Mr Buffett said: "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."
