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Summary
- McKenzie Scott announced to donate A$5.5 billion to 384 organisations in the US.
- Ms Scott wrote a blog on Medium where all groups are named, and how they were picked by her research team.
- In this year alone, Ms Scott has gifted A$8 billion to various institutions in need.
McKenzie Scott on Wednesday shot into limelight again after she announced to donate A$5.5 billion (US$4.2 billion) in charity in four months. Ms Scott has already given away A$2.3 billion in July. That philanthropic cause included 116 organisations which had received the charity money by July 2020.
Ms Scott became the wealthiest woman in the world after her famous divorce from the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO.
After her divorce, Ms Scott took a whopping A$50 billion but decided to donate a large sum of that wealth in charity by signing Giving Pledge in May 2019.
Currently, experts estimate that Ms Scott’s net worth is A$79 billion.
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Image Source: Shutterstock
Why did Ms Scott decide to give away such a vast fortune?
In her blog for Medium, Ms Scott revealed the detailed information about her charity activities. According to the post, Ms Scott asked her professional team to donate her fortune as soon as possible.
The coronavirus pandemic was the main reason why she decided to help Americans in need, as the financial and political situations have left many people homeless and hungry.
Ms Scott emphasised that poor people, women, and people of colour have bore the worst consequences of the recent health crisis. On the other hand, she also acknowledged that many billionaires, like herself, have only gained more profit.
Image Source: Shutterstock
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After signing Giving Pledge, Ms Scott’s donation for this year has so far reached A$8 billion. Melissa Berman, CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, called Ms Scott’s decision the most significant in the philanthropy history.
Ms Scott had also proven that it is easily possible to gift significant sums of money without running into any financial trouble.
Who are the lucky recipients?
Ms Scott’s team finalised 384 organisations that will each receive a portion of the overall charity. There were 6,500 businesses to choose from, out of which her team selected 384.
The blog post was symbolically named 384 Ways to Help.
The most affluent woman chose groups which had not received large sums in charity in the past, are located in extreme poverty areas, do not have sufficient amounts of food, and where racial inequality is significant.
Dozens of colleges, food banks, historically black universities, and many non-profit organisations are on the charity list. Some groups reported that they didn’t sign up for funding and were directly contacted by Ms Scott’s team..
The associations have been picked from all states in the US, including Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. All of them have been publicly announced through the Medium blog.
Many experts have congratulated Ms Scott on how fast and efficient the grant reached to the businesses in need.
What is Giving Pledge?
Giving Pledge is an official document where Ms Scott committed to giving away her “disproportionate amount of money” to those in need.
She promised to gift most of her fortune in charity.
Ms Scott’s ex-husband Mr Bezos had also been known for philanthropy. He donated US$10 billion to climate change organisations in February. Another US$100 million went to 42 groups which are fighting homelessness.
