(Reuters) – MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc billionaire founder Jeff Bezos, has donated over $4.1 billion in the last four months to food banks and emergency relief funds.
In a Medium blogpost on Tuesday, Scott said the COVID-19 pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling and she wanted to provide immediate support to those suffering the economic effects of the crisis. (https://bit.ly/2WgFvCX)
“The result over the last four months has been $4,158,500,000 in gifts to 384 organizations across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C. Some are filling basic needs: food banks, emergency relief funds, and support services for those most vulnerable”, Scott said.
The post added that some donations will also be directed toward “long-term systemic inequities” like debt relief, employment training and legal defense funds.
In July, Scott said she had donated $1.7 billion in the past year to causes including racial equality, LGBTQ rights, public health and climate change.
Last year, Scott signed the Giving Pledge in a commitment to donate the majority of her fortune after her split from Bezos – the world’s richest man – left her with a 4% stake in Amazon.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
