Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, revealed that she had donated about two billion dollars to more than 300 organizations during the past seven months, and this came after Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, announced that he would donate most of his wealth during his life.
Forbes estimates that Scott has now donated $14.4 billion since their 2019 divorce to more than 1,500 organizations, with her most recent donation being $1,990,800,000.
Scott announced her donations on the day Bezos and his current partner, Lauren Sanchez, said he plans to give away the majority of his $124 billion net worth during his lifetime. .
Bezos has been criticized for not signing the Giving Pledge, a commitment by the world’s wealthy to dedicate most of their wealth to charity.
According to the report, among the 277 nonprofits surveyed, just over half of respondents said their Scott grant made fundraising easier, with some saying they were able to use it as leverage with other donors.
Eighty-eight percent of respondents said it was the largest unrestricted grant they had ever received, and nonprofit leaders who received Scott grants said it was transformative for their organizations.
“The amount of money wasn’t even real—what felt more real was the pride and validation that the work I was doing mattered, and someone noticed,” said one nonprofit leader who wasn’t identified by the report.