LETTER FROM NEW YORK
Among American billionaires, there are those who seek to voluntarily impoverish themselves, and those who suffer the stock market thaw while waiting for the storm to pass. In the first category is MacKenzie Scott, who in the space of three years has donated some $12 billion to more than a thousand charities, according to a tally by the Wall Street Journal. One of the latest donations, a $122 million gift to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, an educational and childhood. Scott? The name may not be known, that of Bezos is probably more so. MacKenzie Scott is the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, whom she divorced in 2019 after a quarter century of marriage. During their separation, she recovered 4% of Amazon shares, a colossal fortune estimated at 35 billion dollars.
If MacKenzie Scott gives, it’s to really give. “I have a disproportionate amount of money to share. My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time, effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will continue until the safe is empty”she said, signing the commitment of billionaires to give half of their fortune, a system launched in 2010 by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
MacKenzie Scott, 52, does not have a foundation with the tax advantages and the related transparency obligations. With her new husband, Dan Jewett, a Seattle chemistry teacher at a high school where her children were educated, she flees the spotlight. A break with the American billionaires, who rename themselves philanthropists once they have made their fortune, and who display their name on all the frontispieces. “Putting big donors at the center of social progress stories is a distortion of their role”wrote M.me Scott in 2021.
It gives without requiring recipients to answer a thousand questions and sign strict commitments on the use of donations, a break with the philanthropy practiced by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which employs 1,700 employees to spend 6 billion dollars. per year. “Because we believe that experienced teams on the front line will be better at using the money, we have encouraged them to spend it as they see fit. Many have reported that this trust greatly increases the impact of the donation”commented M.me Scott.
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