US billionaire MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of the richest man on the planet and Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, revealed on Tuesday that she has donated more than $ 4 billion to 384 organizations in the past four months.
In an article published on the Medium platform, Ms. Scott explains that she made this decision to help the Americans hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Both the economic losses and the health impacts have been worse for women, people of color and people living in poverty,” writes the philanthropist. “At the same time, (the pandemic) has allowed billionaires to dramatically increase their fortunes. “
Donations were made to organizations across the United States that work in a variety of areas: food banks, financial and credit services for disadvantaged communities, or legal groups fighting against discrimination.
In total, nearly 6,500 organizations have been evaluated by a team, whose mission is to find the best way for Ms. Scott to donate part of her fortune, consisting mainly of her stake in Amazon’s capital, whose share has soaring since the pandemic.
In July, Scott had already announced donations of $ 1.7 billion to more than 100 charities.
Tuesday’s announcement brings the amount of its donations made public to around $ 6 billion.
Much of Ms. Scott’s fortune, 50, comes from the economic fallout from her divorce from Jeff Bezos, finalized in July 2019, which at the time allowed her to earn the equivalent of $ 38 billion in Amazon shares.
Their value has increased significantly with the soaring of the title of the giant of online commerce on Wall Street.
The billionaire has pledged to donate half of her wealth to charity.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Rankings, Ms. Scott, who is also a novelist, has a fortune of $ 60.7 billion, making her the 18th richest person on the planet.
With 185 billion dollars to her credit, her ex-husband, also very involved in charitable actions, is the richest man on the planet.