Although other billionaires are also secretive with their giving, Bezos, the world’s second-richest person, stands out in part because his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, has redefined what it means to be an ultra-rich philanthropist. Scott, 53, has donated more than $16.5 billion since their 2019 divorce, and releases a list of recipients on her website, including more than 360 organizations that received money in the last year. Bezos, 60, for his part, has donated more than $3 billion over that period. But that’s far from the billions more he’s promised to give away with few immediate details.
The practice offers the Amazon.com founder “maximum publicity with minimum accountability,” said Benjamin Soskis, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. Although donors aren’t legally required to say where the money is going unless gifts have been made from a tax-exempt organization, “Bezos has gained the benefits of public attention and in exchange he needs to provide more information,” Soskis said.
Bezos’ spokesperson said in an email that the remaining $84.5 million pledged to help Maui “will be distributed in the coming years as the continuing needs reveal themselves.”
