Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, American novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has set new records by donating half her earnings from the Amazon share sales to Historically Black colleges and universities. The author who was married to Bezos from 1993 to 2019 was a crucial part of the formation of the company in its earlier days and thus after divorce she received 4% of the shares, which roughly amounted to tens of billions of dollars back in the day. Since then she has committed to financially help philanthropic causes and by signing the Giving Pledge in 2019 promised to give half her life’s earnings as donations.
Why choose Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)?
Her latest donation of around 42 million dollars to the Elizabeth City state University in North Carolina has put hr into spotlight. But there are several reasons why she supports the HBCU’s. First, they have always been very under-resourced. Second, according to her motto, she gives freedom to the institutions to choose what they do with the money. In this regard, the institution might turn it into a scholarship, financial aid, academic programs, infrastructure and more, giving an impetus to trust-based donation. Third, her own experience of receiving a 1000 dollar loan from a friend during her college days which helped her remain in college has largely influenced her decisions to act kindly without thinking about the outcome.
Till date she has donated over billions collectively to institutions like Howard University, Morgan State University, Prairie View A&M University, North Carolina A & T State University, Norfolk State University, Alabama State University Hampton University and more.
Other causes supported by MacKenzie Scott
Apart from education, MacKenzie has supported other causes like Racial and gender Equality. In fact, she has largely supported Bill and Melinda Gates’ Equality Can’t Wait Challenge. She has also worked with organisations that work extensively with housing and homelessness. She actually gave two Beverly Hills homes to the California Community Foundation for this purpose. MacKenzie has deeply cared for health and medical debt, climate and environmental challenges, children (especially girl child) and youth, and participated in global donations beyond United States in countries like India, Latin America, Brazil, Micronesia, Africa and others, emphasising education, economy and social equity.
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