"Every breakup should end with a $38M donation": Fans react after Jeff Bezos' ex-wife MacKenzie Scott makes the largest donation in HBCU's history

Jeff Bezos' ex-wife and philanthropist, MacKenzie Scott, recently made a huge donation to Alabama State University. On October 27, the University's President issued a letter announcing Scott's $38 million donation to the institution. The President called it a "defining moment" in the history of ASU and shared that it was the "largest single donation" in the HBCU's 158-year history.

"I am filled with immense gratitude and proud to announce that Alabama State University has received the largest single donation in its 158-year history. Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated an extraordinary $38 million gift to our great University. Ms. Scott's generosity affirms Alabama State University's reputation as a catalyst for excellence and innovation in higher education," the letter read.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott divorced in 2019 after 25 years of marriage. According to People, the two had reached a settlement, and Scott received a four percent stake in Amazon, which was worth $38.3 billion at the time. Since then, the novelist has made several generous donations to nonprofit organizations.

As soon as the news about her latest donation to Alabama State University surfaced on the internet, many netizens reacted to it. Referring to the divorce settlement between Bezos and Scott, an X user wrote,

"Every breakup should end with a $38M donation tbh."

Another netizen said that it was not Scott's money that she donated.

Some other users insinuated that MacKenzie Scott has been donating money received in the settlement.

A netizen quipped, saying that while Bezos was growing his company, his ex-wife was building "futures."

An internet user slammed people who called out MacKenzie Scott for "leaving" Bezos.

Scott has a history of making generous donations to institutions. An X user highlighted her recent huge donation to another university.

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MacKenzie Scott pledged to donate half of her wealth after her divorce from Jeff Bezos

According to Forbes, soon after finalizing her divorce from Jeff Bezos, Scott signed a giving pledge in May 2019 and announced that she would donate half of her wealth. According to reports, Scott follows a “no strings attached” policy with her donations, meaning the recipient organization has full discretion over how to spend the funds.

Scott also created a website called Yield Giving with the purpose of detailing her donations. The website describes Scott's intention in the following words:

"Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control."

As of now, she has donated over $19.2 billion to more than 2,450 institutions. In one of her blogs for the Yield Giving, Scott described "Philanthropy" as,

"It’s not a word I have ever loved or identified with. A lifetime of cultural references associated it with financially wealthy people who believed they knew best how to solve other people’s problems... How much or how little money changes hands doesn’t make it philanthropy. Intention and effort make it philanthropy," Scott wrote.

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Two years after her divorce from Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott married a school teacher in 2021. However, a year later, she filed for divorce from him. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos married Lauren Sánchez in June this year.

Edited by Anuj Singh Kushwaha