MacKenzie Bezos

MacKenzie Scott Bezos (née Tuttle; April 7, 1970)[2] is an American novelist, activist, and philanthropist. She has served as the executive director of Bystander Revolution, an anti-bullying organization she founded, since 2014.

MacKenzie Bezos
Bezos in 2016
Born
MacKenzie Scott Tuttle

(1970-04-07) April 7, 1970
San Francisco, California, U.S.
EducationPrinceton University (B.A.)
Occupation
  • novelist
  • activist
  • philanthropist
Net worthUS$49.5 billion (June 2020)[1]
Spouse(s)
Jeff Bezos
(m. 1993; div. 2019)
Children4
AwardsAmerican Book Award (2006)

Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Bezos graduated from Princeton University in 1992 where she studied under writer Toni Morrison. After graduating she worked for D. E. Shaw, a quantitative hedge fund in New York, as an administrative assistant from 1992 to 1994. Bezos wrote her debut novel, The Testing of Luther Albright, eleven years later in 2005 for which she won an American Book Award in 2006.

MacKenzie was married to Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, from 1993 to 2019. Their divorce made her the third-wealthiest woman in the world and one of the wealthiest people overall by April 2019.[3][4] In June 2020, it was revealed by Forbes magazine that she is the 22nd richest person in the world, largely thanks to her $38 billion divorce settlement.[5] A month later she signed the Giving Pledge, committing to give at least half of her wealth to charity.[6]

Early life and career

MacKenzie Scott Tuttle was born on April 7, 1970, in San Francisco, California. Her father was a financial planner.[7] In 1988, she graduated from Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut.[8] Tuttle earned her bachelor's degree in English at Princeton University with highest honors in 1992.[4] She studied under writer Toni Morrison, who said Tuttle was "one of the best students I've ever had" in her creative writing classes.[7]

After graduating she worked for D. E. Shaw, a quantitative hedge fund in New York, as an administrative assistant from 1992 to 1994. There she worked for Jeff Bezos, then a senior vice-president, as a research associate.[9] Bezos wrote her debut novel, The Testing of Luther Albright, eleven years later in 2005 for which she won an American Book Award in 2006. Her second novel, Traps, was published in 2013.

In 2014, MacKenzie founded Bystander Revolution, an anti-bullying organization, where she serves as executive director.[10]

Personal life
Bezos (fifth from left) at the 2016 naturalization ceremony for her daughter.

MacKenzie was married to Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, from 1993 to 2019.[11][12] She met him while working as his assistant at D. E. Shaw in 1992; after three months of dating in New York they married and moved to Seattle, Washington in 1994.[4] They have four children: three sons and one daughter adopted from China.[13] Their communal property divorce in 2019 left MacKenzie with US$35.6 billion in Amazon stock while her ex-husband retained 75% of the couple's Amazon stock.[4] She became the third-wealthiest woman in the world and one of the wealthiest people overall in April 2019.[3][4] Mackenzie kept her last name instead of reverting to her maiden name, Tuttle.[14]

Awards

Bezos is the author of The Testing of Luther Albright, a debut novel, which in 2006 won an American Book Award.[15]

Philanthropy

In May 2019, she signed the Giving Pledge, a charitable giving campaign in which she willingly committed to give away most her wealth to charity over her lifetime or in her will."[16]

Books
  • The Testing of Luther Albright. Fourth Estate. 2005. ISBN 978-0-00-719287-8.[17]
  • Traps. Knopf. 2013. ISBN 978-0-307-95973-7.[18]

See also

References
  1. "MacKenzie Bezos". Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  2. Trotter, J.K. (January 22, 2019). "What we know, and don't know, about Jeff Bezos' religious beliefs". Insider. Retrieved February 12, 2020. ...marriage of Jeffrey Preston Bezos and MacKenzie Scott Tuttle.
  3. Schleifer, Theodore (April 4, 2019). "MacKenzie Bezos, with $35 billion, is now the world's third-wealthiest woman". Recode. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  4. Bromwich, Jonah Engel; Alter, Alexandra (January 12, 2019). "Who Is MacKenzie Bezos?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  5. Business, Jordan Valinsky, CNN. "Jeff Bezos tops Forbes list of billionaires, again". CNN. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  6. Gren, Christy (May 29, 2019). "MacKenzie Bezos Signs The Giving Pledge and Pledges to give Half Her Fortune". Industry Leaders Magazine. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  7. Johnson, Rebecca (February 20, 2013). "MacKenzie Bezos: Writer, Mother of Four, and High-profile Wife". Vogue. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  8. "Alumni Award: Previous Recipients". The Hotchkiss School. 2004. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  9. Sumagaysay, Levi (November 5, 2013). "Quoted: She Said, He Said – MacKenzie Bezos Vs. Author Of Book On Amazon". SiliconBeat. The Mercury News.
  10. "Bystander Revolution". Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  11. Bayers, Chip (March 1999). "The Inner Bezos". Wired. Vol. 7 no. 3. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  12. Snider, Mike (January 9, 2019). "Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie to divorce after 25 years of marriage". USA Today.
  13. "Jeff Bezos Fast Facts". CNN. 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  14. "Jeff Bezos to keep 75 percent of couple's Amazon stock after finalizing divorce". CNBC. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  15. "American Book Award Winners 2006" (PDF).
  16. Schleifer, Theodore (May 28, 2019). "MacKenzie Bezos signed the philanthropic commitment her ex-husband spurned". Vox. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  17. Bezos, MacKenzie; Sutherland, Brian (December 10, 2013). The Testing of Luther Albright (Unabridged ed.). Brilliance Audio. ISBN 9781480569157.
  18. Bezos, MacKenzie (November 5, 2013). Traps. New York: Vintage. ISBN 9780307950291.
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