Motivation

How MacKenzie Bezos Earned & Lost the Title for the World’s Richest Woman All in One Day

April 3, 2022

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.

More From

What’s Up with Fake Meat? Here’s Why You Should Give It a Try Earlier this year, power couple Beyonce and Jay-Z challenged their fans to join them in becoming vegan, even saying that it is of global importance. Plant-based diet champions are also encouraging the public to not eat meat, citing tons of supposed benefits. Because of the growing number of people switching their lifestyles, there is no doubt that the trend is booming more than ever. However, not all people are convinced of the practice, while others are afraid of a drastic change. But for some, the reason can be as simple as they’re unwilling to or couldn’t give up meat. Reasons to Give Up Meat Vegans have been laying out studies after studies detailing the benefits of eating plant-based food in order to urge people to switch to the other side. The number of those convinced is sharply soaring – a comparemarket.com survey saw 3.5 million Brits who admit they are vegan. The increase, according to University of Oxford’s Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network former director Carolyn Roberts, may be due to the change of attitude toward environmental issues. Photo: Cattle-raising contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. https://www.google.com/search?biw=1920&bih=969&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=cnjCXJWgO4aGyAODv62gBQ&q=cattle+raising+&oq=cattle+raising+&gs_l=img.3..0j0i30j0i5i30j0i30j0i24l6.15631.17524..17741...0.0..0.144.1789.0j15......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i67j0i8i30.v9LRIwtoDM0#imgrc=KIgj3UA7PeR3iM: The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization revealed in a 2006 report that cattle-raising contributes more greenhouse gas emissions than cars. It makes up for 37 percent for methane induced by humans and accounts for 64 percent of ammonia. According to a study, we need to consume 90 percent less pork and 75 percent less beef all over the world just to keep the global temperature less than 2 degrees Celsius within the century. Don’t forget about the harm it does to the animals. The Rise of Fake Meat While the aforementioned facts are not enough to convince people to change their eating habits, the food industry came up with fake meats, which impressively taste like the real thing. You are forgiven if you think that meat substitutes were only made a couple of years ago, but according to Chinese food expert Fuchsia Dunlop, it originated in China. In fact, it deeply roots in the colorful and history-rich culinary culture of the Asian country. Photo: Far from most people thought, fake meat actually started in China. https://www.google.com/search?biw=1920&bih=969&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=rHjCXLXPFeDbz7sPta2RgAM&q=fake+meat+&oq=fake+meat+&gs_l=img.3..0l7j0i5i30l3.16085.16085..16242...0.0..0.121.121.0j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.FqsVKZIZRSA#imgdii=xVJh1brFl-OIoM:&imgrc=CGIX8mGLvAfDHM: The author of “Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China” explained that there were meat imitations in China as early as the Medieval age, which was mostly evident in banquets. An example of which was during the Tang dynasty when imitation pork and mutton dishes were served at a banquet hosted by an official. What Makes Fake Meat Taste Like the Real Deal? Fake meat manufacturers have a competition that’s pretty hard to beat, the real thing. That’s why they must make it a point that their products copy real meat exactly, especially the taste. How do they do this? Impossible Foods, famous for their Impossible Burger that has gotten rave reviews for tasting nothing like vegetables, credits heme, a result of a bioengineering process and is a molecule that gives the patty the “slightly metallic bloody flavor,” chief science officer David Lipman explained. Photo: The Impossible Burger tastes like meat because of heme. https://www.google.com/search?q=impossible+burger&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjQm-SQ5uzhAhXMyYUKHZd8CkEQ_AUIDigB&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=txQM-4DN3UznbM: It’s not only the taste that companies are eyeing as the edge over real meat, but even the price point is a favorable factor to attract customers. Impossible Foods’ goal is to compete with the price tag of Safeway’s 80/20 hamburger so that consumers’ decision-making may depend on their money.

More from Motivation category