NEW YORK: MacKenzie Bezos, soon-to-be ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, will donate half her fortune to charity, joining the ranks of the world’s ultra-wealthy philanthropists, the Giving Pledge announced Tuesday.
The charitable organization, founded in 2010 by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, listed Bezos among 19 new signatories from China, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Britain as well as the United States.
Bezos in April instantly became one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, gaining a net worth estimated at $36 billion after finalizing the terms of her divorce with Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man.
“In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I have a disproportionate amount of money to share,” MacKenzie Bezos said in a letter announcing that she was joining the pledge.
“My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.”
As part of the couple’s pending divorce, MacKenzie Bezos is to retain 25 percent of the Amazon shares the pair held jointly, equal to about four percent of the company, but surrendered all her voting rights.
More than 200 people have now taken the Giving Pledge, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, investor Bill Ackman and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Jeff Bezos, whose fortune is currently estimated at well over $100 billion, has not taken the pledge but in September announced a $2 billion investment fund intended to support homeless families and education in poor communities.
MacKenzie Bezos pledges half her fortune to charity
MacKenzie Bezos pledges half her fortune to charity
- As part of the couple’s pending divorce, MacKenzie Bezos is to retain 25 percent of the Amazon shares the pair held jointly
North Korea and China to resume passenger train service after six-year gap
- China’s railway authority said in a notice that Beijing-Pyongyang trains will operate four times a week
- The resumption from March 12 will “further promote China-North Korea travel, trade and economic cooperation”
SEOUL/BEIJING: Tickets for the first passenger train in six years from Beijing to North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, were sold out ahead of its March 12 departure, an official ticketing office in Beijing said on Tuesday.
The resumption of the rail service, suspended since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, revives a critical transport link between the largely isolated North Korea and its primary economic ally.
Tickets for the journey — restricted to travelers holding business visas — were purchased by entrepreneurs, government officials and reporters, according to the Beijing ticketing office. Tickets were still available for the next service, scheduled for March 18.
NORTH KOREA STILL LARGELY CLOSED TO TOURISTS
China’s railway authority said in a notice that Beijing-Pyongyang trains will operate four times a week in both directions on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday while Dandong-Pyongyang trains will run daily.
The resumption from March 12 will “further promote China-North Korea travel, trade and economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutual well-being and friendship,” the notice said.
North Korea remains closed to most foreign tourism, with limited exceptions largely for Russian tour groups under restricted arrangements, according to travel agencies organizing trips to the country.
Before the pandemic, Chinese visitors made up the largest share of foreign tourists to North Korea, the agencies said. Tour organizers said on Monday that North Korea had canceled next month’s Pyongyang Marathon for unspecified reasons. The race is one of the few events that has been open to international participants in the isolated state.
