Published 11:17 IST, July 29th 2020
Mackenzie Scott donated $1.7 billion of her wealth since split with Jeff Bezos
MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc's billionaire Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, has donated $1.7 billion of her wealth in the last year, she said.
MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc's billionaire Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, has donated $1.7 billion of her wealth in the last year to causes including racial equality, LGBTQ rights, public health and climate change, she reportedly said in a blog post. Scott signed the Giving Pledge in a commitment to donate the majority of her stake last year after her split from Bezos - the world's richest man, who left her with a 4% stake in Amazon.
Scott to donate wealth
According to the reports, during the time of the divorce her stake was worth about $36 billion which has grown to over $60 billion with a jump in Amazon's shares this year. Scott reportedly made her announcement just a day before Jeff Bezos will appear for his first-ever Congressional testimony in front of an antitrust panel which has been investigating how Amazon has used its market power to compete against smaller rivals.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos’ net worth has shot through the roof amid coronavirus pandemic, taking the fortune to $172 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos has not only been able to hold on to the top spot, but also crossed his previous high of $167.7 billion recorded in September 2018. Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie has become the second richest woman in the world with a net worth of $56.9 billion, currently holding 12th position in Bloomberg’s ranking. The former couple finalised their divorce settlement in July which paved the for MacKenzie to get $38.3 billion which then took her to 22nd place on Bloomberg Billionaire Index. But she decided to donate half of her alimony amount to investor Warren Buffett’s philanthropic campaign ‘the Giving Pledge’.
Image: MacKenzie Scott/Twitt
Updated 11:17 IST, July 29th 2020