It seems like any talk of MacKenzie Bezos wouldn’t be complete without mention of her billionaire ex-husband Jeff. After all, he is a larger public figure thanks to the success of Amazon.
But looking past beyond seeing her as just the CEO’s former spouse, Bezos boasts of many achievements in her life.
Divorce Aftermath
For starters, she became a billionaire in her own right after her divorce from Jeff in 2019. Not only that, but Forbes has also ranked her fourth among the richest women in the world today.
The initial settlement she got, which included shares in the e-commerce giant, reportedly amounted to $38 billion. A year after the divorce, the value of her fortune has grown to an estimated $42.5 billion today.
In comparison, Jeff is valued at $138.2 billion. The two of them also remain to be Amazon’s largest stakeholders.
Their current good fortune, although now as individuals, is a stark contrast from the state of their finances at the beginning of their marriage.
While it can be easy to simply attribute her wealth to her former husband, it’s important to note the 50-year-old billionaire’s contributions to Jeff and Amazon’s successes.
Meeting Jeff
Bezos graduated from Princeton University at the top of her class with a degree in English. She was even described as ‘one of the best students’ renowned author Toni Morrison had in her creative writing classes.
Despite her inclinations towards writing, she went on to work as a research associate at a hedge fund where she eventually met Jeff. Bezos reportedly fell in love with her future husband’s laugh after hearing it all day as their offices were near each other’s.
They were married less than a year after they started dating. And together, they pursued the idea Jeff had for Amazon.
Once their company took off, Bezos continued her passion for writing and authored two books even winning an American Book Award for her debut novel.
Pledging Her Wealth
Since earning her wealth, Bezos has signed fellow billionaire Bill Gates’ initiative, the Giving Pledge promising to donate a bulk of her fortune towards charitable causes.
She made the commitment shortly after settling her divorce from the Amazon CEO. The pledge has recruited plenty of other famous business people.
One notable exception though is her own ex-husband, who has previously faced criticism about his lack of generosity when it comes to donating.