After her divorce with Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott has donated $1.7 billion to more than 100 charitable organizations

• Scott’s choice of beneficiaries’ ranges from those working with climate change to racial equity initiatives
• Scott’s 4% share in Amazon has now ballooned from $36 billion to $60 billion.
• Scott’s beneficiaries are given unrestricted access to the donations to allow for maximum flexibility

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Mackenzie Scott’s divorce settlement with Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, amounted to $36 billion. After signing the Giving Pledge, or the world’s richest people making a public promise to donate their wealth throughout their lifetime, Scott has already given $1.7 billion in just a year.

According to Reuters, her 4% share in Amazon has surged to $60 billion as Amazon’s share prices have risen. This makes Scott one of the richest women in the world.

In her post, Scott said, “Like many, I watched the first half of 2020 with a mixture of heartbreak and horror. Life will never stop finding fresh ways to expose inequities in our systems.”

Here is an update of what she has given so far: $586 million for racial equity initiatives, $133 million to gender equity causes, $125 million to climate change efforts, and $46 million to LGBTQ groups. Her beneficiaries include major nonprofits:  The Nature Conservancy and the National Urban League, Lambda Legal, and other Seattle-based charities like the United Way of King County.

Scott’s donations have been unrestricted to provide “maximum flexibility” unless the organization asks for it.

“The fact that it is unrestricted really speaks to [Scott’s] trust in us to really promote racial equity and justice. It empowers us to do what is right for our community,” says Angelique Albert, executive director of the American Indian Graduate Center and Scott’s benefactor. “It’s surreal.”

Her estranged husband has also signed the same pledge, giving away to name a few, a $10 billion fund for climate change endeavors and promises multibillion-dollar philanthropic endeavors this 2020.

Scott for her part wrote that, “I recommend these organizations to anyone similarly excited by the idea of empowering leaders well-positioned to accelerate progress. Every one of them is tackling complex challenges that will require sustained effort over many years, while simultaneously addressing consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The $1.7 billion is just a start as Scott’s “giving continues in the months and years to come.”

Source: AOL.Com