You must have heard of The Giving Pledge, right? If you haven’t, it is a commitment by some of the wealthiest families, couples, and individuals in the world to give to charity majority of their net worth.
Warren Buffet and the Gates
The non-profit organization was an initiative pushed by Bill Gates and his wife, in conjunction with Warren Buffet. It came to being in 2010, and as of May, this year boasts over 200 signatories.
Late last month, the organization announced that they’d added to their number of signatories, this time the individual in question being MacKenzie Bezos. The novelist just recently got divorced from Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man.
After a 25-year marriage, Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos parted ways earlier this year
You can’t have been married to Bezos and not have accumulated enviable wealth throughout that time, can you? MacKenzie’s net worth sits at $37 billion, and she has pledged at least half to charitable and philanthropic causes.
The same day MacKenzie’s announcement was made, Paul Tudor Jones also put the word out that together with his wife, they’d committed themselves to The Pledge. According to Forbes, Jones is worth at least $5 billion.
Naturally, MacKenzie’s divorce significantly propelled her net worth, cementing her place as one of the wealthiest women in the world. And although her ex-husband is yet to commit to giving, he did commend her commitment, describing it as thoughtful and amazing. He also said that he expected her philanthropy to be very effective.
She always seems to have a smile on her face
Part of the former couple’s settlement included MacKenzie forfeiting 75% of the stock they co-owned at Amazon, but that still didn’t leave her worse off. In fact, she is currently at number 22 according to the Billionaires Index by Bloomberg. Her former husband deservedly tops this list, with his net worth being at $114 billion.
MacKenzie Bezos issued out a letter confirming her pledge, revealing that she would take a thoughtful approach to her philanthropy. She pledged to put in an undeniable effort, care, and all the time it would take to see her well run dry, and even then, she would still find something to give.
Anyone is welcome to join
The Giving Pledge is not restricted to the affluential in the United States alone. MacKenzie Bezos joins a group of 204 signatories from 23 countries, several of whom have unfortunately passed on.
Can MacKenzie convince her ex-husband to join the Pledge?
Of course, the three founders are all signatories to the Pledge, and Mark Zuckerberg and his wife haven’t been left out. Other names that may be familiar to those interested in the tech industry include Brian Acton and Brian Armstrong. Acton co-founded WhatsApp, which was sold to Facebook almost five years ago. His net worth is now estimated to be worth over $4 billion.
Armstrong, on the other hand, has a net worth of slightly over $1 billion, Forbes says. Being the CEO of Coinbase, we can hardly question the Forbes estimation. After all, when are they ever wrong?
What’s really commendable about The Giving Pledge is that one joins of their own volition, and they are not legally compelled to donate anything even after being a signatory. They give straight from the heart.
