Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott has given over $26,300,000,000 to charity, Elon Musk responds
Tech tycoon Elon Musk has stirred a row after saying record-breaking, multi-billion-dollar philanthropic campaign of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott is harming society instead of doing charity.The contoversey erupted following reports that MacKenzie Scott has now distributed more than $26,300,000,000 (26.3 billion dollars) to charity. This makes her one of the biggest individual donors in human history. Scott has vowed to spend the majority of her massive Amazon fortune, which she got after splitting with Bezos in 2019, on helping others and making the world a better place. They got married in 1993.However, reacting to the news, Musk lashed out and said her actions are having the opposite effect. Writing in a post on X, Musk said: “Sadly yes”The Tesla boss replied to an X user who said: “Unfortunately, she’s spending it making the world a worse place” MacKenzie Scott donated about $26.2 billion to charity through her organisation Yield Giving. She made up nearly one-third of all US “megagift” donations last year alone, contributing around $7 billion out of $19.2 billion total large donations. Her giving has gone to about 2,700 non-profits, including Howard University and climate-focused groups. She uses a private method called “quiet research” to choose charities supporting underserved communities. Scott has also said she plans to keep donating most of her wealth “until the safe is empty” to help improve society. Moreover, in 2024, Elon Musk made a controversial post on X that was widely interpreted as being aimed at MacKenzie Scott and her charitable donations. He wrote in a now-deleted tweet: “Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse should be listed among ‘Reasons that Western Civilization died.’”Although he did not directly name her, the context of the post came shortly after discussion about Scott’s large-scale donations to organisations focused on race, gender, climate, and marginalized communities. Many users and commentators linked his remark to her. The tweet sparked backlash online and was later deleted. Musk has also previously criticised Scott’s philanthropic approach, suggesting at times that her donations were politically motivated and targeted at causes opposed to his views.Elon Musk briefly became a trillionaire earlier this after the IPO and surge in valuation of SpaceX, which pushed his net worth above $1 trillion.
