MacKenzie Scott donates $20 million to California schools

Billionaire MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has donated $20 billion to the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD).

This was announced by the district itself during a press briefing earlier this week. According to The Fresno Bee, the money will be used for FUSD’s new Foundation for Fresno Unified Schools.

Fresno Superintendent Bob Nelson said that the school district’s “negative self-image” and the city’s high poverty rate made a “tool of privilege” like a foundation seem out of reach.

MACKENZIE DONATES TO CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS

MacKenzie Scott’s donation comes two weeks after it was revealed she was filing for divorce from her husband Dan Jewett. Scott is considered one of the wealthiest women in the world as Bloomberg says she boasts a $27 billion networth.

According to the New York Times, Scott filed for divorce in Washington State on Monday, 26 September 2022. The publication reports that court records show that Jewett did not contest the divorce.

Speculation of a divorce between the couple came after MacKenzie Scott’s husband’s name appeared to have been removed from several of her philanthropic endeavors. Both Scott and Jewett had previously posted letters to the Giving Pledge website, which is where wealthy people can vow to generously donate a chunk of their fortune to good causes.

Her Amazon bio also removed any mention of Jewett’s name. It isn’t clear if a prenup was in place, but the former couple used a separation contract in which former spouses agree on the terms of the separation, including what becomes of the marital property.

Scott became one of the wealthiest women in the world after divorcing her ex-husband in 2019. She and Bezos had been married between 1993 and 2019.

“We want to make people aware of a development in our lives. As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends,” Bezos said at the time.

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