In a blog post on Medium, on Tuesday, MacKenzie Scott said that she had donated another $2.7 billion from the vast fortune that she had received as a divorce settlement from her ex-husband Jeff Bezos. She said that it was given away to 286 organizations. She also condemned the disproportionate wealth gap that exists. She said that the wealth gap had put “disproportionate wealth” into a “small number of hands.”
The rapid growth of Amazon during the pandemic has vastly increased Bezos’ fortune making him the richest man in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. MacKenzie Scott’s rank is at number 22 with a fortune that is close to $60 billion.
However, unlike her ex, the American author and philanthropist has given away huge swaths of her fortune. In comparison, the world’s richest man, along with a few other billionaires has reportedly paid close to zero tax according to a report by ProPublica.
— MacKenzie Scott (@mackenziescott) April 4, 2019
Scott said that any wealth is a product of a collective effort that included them. When she wrote them, she was referring to people who she says have to struggle each days against inequities. She also mentioned that the social structures that inflate wealth present obstacles to them. She added that these people provide solutions that benefit all, despite facing obstacles.
This latest give away by Scott is her third major donation. Forbes has estimated that she donated nearly $6 billion in 2020 to 500 organizations. They estimate that her current fortune, after the recent disbursement, stands at $57 on June 15, 2021.
She has contributed to a diverse group of organizations working in the arts, in education, in micro finance, in fostering interfaith activities, in rehabilitation and more. With her current husband, Dan Jewett, who is a teacher, she has reached out to many more small organizations, who otherwise could fall through the cracks and empowers them with her faith and belief in their work.
MacKenzie Scott has also signed the Giving Pledge. As a signatory of the pledge, she has promised to give away fifty percent of her fortune to charitable organizations. She can donate this portion of her fortune during her lifetime or after her death.
