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The incredible generosity of Jeff Bezos' ex-wife: “I have an excessively large sum of money to distribute”

MacKenzie Scott got the remaining quarter of Bezos' portfolio

There were therefore fears of serious financial damage for Amazon. But months of negotiations between the two camps of lawyers resulted in a compromise. While Jeff Bezos kept three-quarters of his shares, MacKenzie Scott got the remaining quarter of Bezos' portfolio. At that time, these 400 million shares were worth a combined $38.3 billion (€36.8 billion). Which suddenly made McKenzie Scott one of the richest women in the world.

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It must be said that McKenzie Scott contributed to the launch of Amazon, supporting her husband at the cost of sacrifices during the early years of the e-commerce giant. She was also the first employee and was particularly busy wrapping the first packages in the garage of the family home.

The rest of the story is known since Amazon has become one of the most powerful e-commerce sites in the world. MacKenzie, however, never chased fortune. And it is a little against his will that, following the explosion of orders during confinement, Amazon's profits and shares having followed the same curve, his fortune has almost doubled.

“I have an excessively large sum of money to distribute”

But long before that, she had already made her commitments to help charitable works. In May 2019, shortly after the divorce settlement, she became a member of “The Giving Pledge”, the charitable organization of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Billionaires who join this association commit to donating at least half of their fortune for the rest of their lives. And while that promise isn't legally binding, Scott released a statement saying she wanted to go much further. “On top of everything life has given me, I have an exceedingly large amount of money to give away. My approach to philanthropy will always be thoughtful. This will take time, effort and care. But I don't want to wait. And I’ll keep doing it until the safe is empty.”

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Of the 400 million Amazon shares it acquired, it has sold about 255 million for charity in recent years. If MacKenzie Scott is considered the greatest philanthropist, other personalities also use their immense wealth to help numerous charities.

Among them, Bill and Melinda Gates who, through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have invested billions of dollars to fight infectious diseases, improve education and reduce poverty. Warren Buffett has also promised to donate almost all of his fortune to charity, with the majority going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

George Soros, through his foundation, Open Society Foundations, has funded initiatives to promote democracy, human rights and social justice. As for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he has donated billions to causes including public health, education and climate change.

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