MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, said in a blog post that she has donated $ 4.2 billion of her fortune over the past four months. Scott said he accelerated his charity plans because of the pandemic’s “shattering ball,” noting that it also “substantially increased the wealth of billionaires.”
Scott is among the billionaires whose fortunes have skyrocketed since the pandemic it paralyzed the U.S. for the first time in March. Its wealth is now valued at more than $ 60 billion, representing a nearly $ 24 billion boost since the beginning of the year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Its wealth is largely tied to the fortune of Amazon.com, whose shares have risen 67% this year as more consumers shop online because of the pandemic. Scott’s charitable contributions go hand in hand with him signing the pledge to give, a philanthropic campaign founded by famed investor Warren Buffett in May 2019, promising to donate most of his wealth to philanthropic causes throughout his life.
On December 15, Scott announced his recent wave of charitable gifts in a medium publication, writing that he was inspired by grassroots efforts to help people in need, such as community refrigerators and “person-to-person improvised Venmo gifts. “. Scott said he started looking at 6,490 organizations and then narrowed his list to 384 organizations that have “high impact potential.”
Many of these organizations, such as food banks, address basic needs, while others focus on what Scott called “long-term systemic inequalities that have been deepened by the crisis.”
“We first shared each of our gift decisions with program leaders over the phone and welcomed them to spend funding on what they believe best serves their efforts,” he wrote. “Responses from people who received the calls often included personal stories and tears.”
“Works of Mercy”
Scott’s focus on charitable donations is remarkable, and not just because of the size of the gifts, said Chuck Collins, director of the Institute for Policy Studies ’charity reform initiative. Collins, the heir to Oscar Mayer’s food empire, has donated much of his wealth.
“Scott, a newcomer to the multimillion-dollar wealth scene, has been surrounded by advisors who come from low-income communities, not people who are usually on the foundation’s boards,” Collins said in a statement to e-mail.
He added: “As a result, most of these gifts are intended for works of mercy during this pandemic: food banks, direct social service organizations, emergency funds and support services for the most vulnerable. vulnerable “.
It’s not the first time Scott has given away a piece of his wealth. In July, he said yes gave $ 1.7 billion from his personal fortune to charity. These gifts were addressed to organizations committed to racial and gender equity, economic mobility, public health, climate change and more.
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