MacKenzie Scott, an author and philanthropist formerly married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced on Tuesday that she would donate about $4.2 billion to 384 organizations, including historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), CNN reported.
The world’s 18th richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index, she committed to the Giving Pledge Initiative by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates, encouraging the world’s wealthiest people to donate significant chunks of their fortunes.
“…I asked a team of advisors to help me accelerate my 2020 giving through immediate support to people suffering the economic effects of the crisis,” Scott wrote in a Medium post. “They took a data-driven approach to identifying organizations with strong leadership teams and results, with special attention to those operating in communities facing high projected food insecurity, high measures of racial inequity, high local poverty rates, and low access to philanthropic capital.”
This follows a $1.7 billion donation she made to 116 organizations in July, including four HBCUs: Howard University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Hampton University and Tuskegee University.
This time, Scott will again support HBCUS, donating $50 million to Prairie View A&M University, the largest donation the school has ever received, and $40 million to Morgan State University, the school’s largest private donation. She’s giving to other HBCUs as well, including Virginia State University, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Alcorn State University and Dillard University.