There’s no doubt that MacKenzie Bezos is one accomplished woman. Aside from helping her ex-husband Jeff Bezos build Amazon from the ground up, she’s also an award-winning author and one of the wealthiest women in the world.
And now, she’s adding a new achievement to her already impressive resume.
Eventful Day
Paul Mounce - Corbis/Getty | MacKenzie became a billionaire when she received $38 billion after her divorce was finalized in 2019
After coming behind L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers for quite some time, MacKenzie finally nabbed the title of the world’s richest woman when Amazon’s stock reached $3,300 per share on July 13.
Market watchers have previously predicted that the e-commerce giant’s stock would only need to get to $3,255 for MacKenzie to finally overtake Bettencourt-Meyers.
It can be remembered that the 50-year-old novelist was granted around 20 million shares in Amazon. When Amazon stock reached $3,255, the value of her stake in the company ballooned to $65.1 billion.
In comparison, Bettencourt-Meyers’ personal wealth typically swings between $64 billion and $65 billion.
Wealth Fluctuations
Volodymyr Plysiuk/Shutterstock | MacKenzie’s net worth is currently estimated to be around $60 billion
Unfortunately, MacKenzie wasn’t able to hold on to her position at the top for long.
Although the July 13 trading day saw Amazon reach an all-time high of $3,344, the day closed with the company being down by 3% at $3,104.
Safe to say, the billionaire author lost out on her bid to become the richest woman in the world the same day she earned it. Knowing her philanthropic inclinations though, MacKenzie probably won’t mind the loss too much.
As a Giving Pledge signatory, she has already earmarked half of her wealth to be given away throughout her lifetime. MacKenzie notably signed the Pledge less than two months after her divorce was settled.
Meanwhile, her ex-husband has been criticized for his perceived lack of commitment to similar philanthropic causes despite being the richest person in the world.
lev radin/Shutterstock |Bezos’ wealth has also grown exponentially during the pandemic as it's at $180.2 billion
Women Billionaires
Forbes counts 234 women billionaires on its current list of the wealthiest people in the world. The number is slightly smaller than the 244 women the publication counted the year prior.
However, the women on the list saw their total wealth grow over the past months despite the economic instability brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Altogether, the top ten women billionaires are reportedly worth $927.4 billion, which is $29.4 billion more than their total last year.
Walmart heiress Alice Walton and Bettencourt-Meyers are the ones typically trading places as the richest woman in the world. Julia Koch and MacKenzie are close competitors.
