Wed 16 December 2020:
MacKenzie Scott announced on Tuesday that she has given nearly $4.2 billion to 384 organizations in the past four months, bringing her year-to-date charitable contributions to nearly $6 billion.
Scott, an author and ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, announced her latest gifts in a Medium post that highlighted her desire to help groups focused on basic needs, such as food banks and Meals on Wheels, as the novel coronavirus pandemic ravaging the nation, The New York Times reported.
“This pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling,” Scott wrote in her post. “Economic losses and health outcomes alike have been worse for women, for people of color, and for people living in poverty. Meanwhile, it has substantially increased the wealth of billionaires.”
Scott listed the names of the groups that received the money, just as she did for the 116 organizations in her July letter. In her announcement this summer, Scott said she decided to make the gifts public in part to call attention to “organizations and leaders driving change.”
Philanthropy experts applauded Scott’s work not only for how quickly she’s given away her fortune, but also how she’s gone about it.
“She shares the results of her research and criteria so that donors of all levels can learn about organizations that are particularly worthy of support,” said Boston College law professor Ray Madoff.
Madoff is part of a coalition of academics, large foundations and billionaire donors urging reform of U.S. philanthropic rules. More than $1 trillion sits in foundations and donor-advised funds that could be unlocked for charity, the group argues.
Wealth climbed to $23.6 billion
Over the last 4 months, Bezos’ ex-wife said that she had given away in charity $4,158,500,000 worth gifts to 384 organizations across all 50 states, including Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C.
A team that she set up to aid those in crisis, sought suggestions from the field experts, funders, and non-profit leaders and conducted data analysis on community needs. According to her post, those that got relief from her charitable funds shared stories of hope and tears.
The world’s 18th-richest person with a $60.7 billion net worth, MacKenzie Scott’s wealth climbed to $23.6 billion in the year 2020, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Her post suggests that she had initially listed some 6,500 organizations to gift her wealth to, but ultimately narrowed it down to 384 groups.
The 50-year-old, who was formerly married to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, had signed the Giving Pledge to make large donations out of her wealth in the year 2019.
