A couple of years ago, you may recall the big news that came in the wake of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ divorce with Mazkenzie Scott.
Namely, that she was able to walk away with 4% of Amazon’s stock, which amounted to 19.7 million shares valued at $38.3 billion. According to Vanity Fair , this had the potential of doubling her net worth to $62 billion.
But while a lot of us may be tempted to hoard that type of money like a dragon, it’s clear that Scott is more inclined to donate it as she gave away close to $6 billion of her fortune last year.
But more recently, she’s made it clear that she’s not done sharing the wealth, with yet another massive donation.
Before her divorce with Bezos was finalized, Scott made no bones about the fact that she didn’t plan to keep her wealth to herself.
According to CNN , she signed on to an initiative called the Giving Pledge in May of 2019.
Started by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates, this pledge is intended to encourage those with extreme means to give away the majority of their fortunes.
And in a blog post released on June 16, Scott announced that she was ready to make another dent in her post-divorce fortunes.
As the BBC reported , she then gave away $2.7 billion to 286 organizations chosen by her, a team of researchers, and science teacher Dan Jewett, whom she married in March.
As Jewett said, “In a stroke of happy coincidence, I am married to one of the most generous and kind people I know – and joining her in a commitment to pass on an enormous financial wealth to serve others.”
This move will now bring her total donations since accruing her Amazon stock to $8.5 billion.
Despite this massive giving spree, however, the BBC reported that Scott retains a net worth of $59.5 billion, making her the 22nd-richest person in the world.
But she’s also a person who’s apparently looking to address underfunded public goods and under-served communities with her staggering net worth.
Indeed, some of the 286 organizations listed are devoted to arts and general education programs, while others are trying to take down racial inequality.
The full list is available in Scott’s blog post but some illustrative examples include the National Equity Project, the Emerging LGBTQ Leaders of Color Fund, the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund, and the Asian American Federation.
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As Scott said, “People struggling against inequities deserve center stage in stories about change they are creating. Me, Dan, a constellation of researchers and administrators and advisors — we are all attempting to give away a fortune that was enabled by systems in need of change.”
