Benzinga | Jun 15, 2021 03:50PM EDT

Bezos Ex-Wife MacKenzie Scott Gives $2.74B To 286 Nonprofits

MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, has announced the philanthropic gift of $2.74 billion to 286 nonprofits.

What Happened: In a blog post on Medium titled "Seeding by Ceding," Scott stated her donation was being spread widely to a diverse variety of organizations due to "a humbling belief that it would be better if disproportionate wealth were not concentrated in a small number of hands, and that the solutions are best designed and implemented by others."

Scott cited her new husband, Dan Jewett, and "a constellation of researchers and administrators and advisors" in helping her select the organizations that would receive her funds. Although some of the funds went to nationally prominent organizations, such as the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Jazz at Lincoln Center, she opted to concentrate the bulk of philanthropy on state- and local-level organizations focused on educational, cultural and social justice issues.

"Because community-centered service is such a powerful catalyst and multiplier, we spent the first quarter of 2021 identifying and evaluating equity-oriented non-profit teams working in areas that have been neglected," she said, adding her selections were aimed at "286 high-impact organizations in categories and communities that have been historically underfunded and overlooked."

Related Link: Mackenzie Scott Marries Seattle Science Teacher

What's Next: The new philanthropic outreach marks the second time in a year Scott has made generous donations on a wide scale. Last July, she announced nearly $6 billion in gifts to approximately 500 nonprofits.

Scott's philanthropy is keeping with her signing of the Giving Pledge following her May 2019 divorce from Bezos. The Giving Pledge is followed by several of the world's wealthiest people, including Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) CEO Warren Buffett, who vow to contribute more than half of their wealth to charitable causes.

(Photo by BenScripps / Pixabay.)