Amazon CEO Jeff Bezo's ex-wife donates USD 1.7 billion for social causes

July 29, 2020 11:49

MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, announced on Tuesday (local time) that she has donated around USD 1.7 billion to groups involved in philanthropic causes such as healthcare, LGBT rights and racial justice.

Scott, who said she changed her surname after her divorce from Bezos last year, wrote in a post shared on Medium -- an online publishing platform -- said she pledged to give a majority of her wealth "back to the society that helped generate it", The Hill reported.

The 50-year-old's net worth is USD 60.4 billion, making her the 13th wealthiest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. "Like many, I watched the first half of 2020 with a mixture of heartbreak and horror. Life will never stop finding fresh ways to expose inequities in our systems or waking us up to the fact that a civilisation this imbalanced is not only unjust but also unstable. What fills me with hope is the thought of what will come if each of us reflects on what we can offer," she said.

"Opportunities that flowed from the mere chance of skin colour, sexual orientation, gender or zip code may have yielded resources that can be powerful levers for change," she added.

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