Mackenzie Scott donated millions from her personal wealth she acquired from her divorce to historically Black colleges.
She tweeted that she officially dropped the Bezos surname and now using the “middle name I grew up with, after my grandfather Scott.”
Scott, who is now the third richest woman in the world, announced that she was donating $1.7 billion to charity.
Howard University, Xavier University of Louisiana and Hampton University all announced that they’ve received the largest donation in their school’s history.
Following up on the commitment I made last year to give away the majority of my wealth in my lifetime: https://t.co/Ocb8eU5UR1. (Note my Medium account is under my new last name — changed back to middle name I grew up with, after my grandfather Scott.)
— MacKenzie Scott (@mackenziescott) July 28, 2020
“I would like to thank Ms. Mackenzie Scott for her investment into Howard University and our 153-year mission of serving a diverse community of dynamic scholars who come here for an education and leave here with purpose to serve the world,” Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick said in a statement. “We plan to immediately put this eight-figure gift to good use to support components of our 5-year strategic plan to help students graduate on time, retain our talented faculty, enhance our campus infrastructure and support academic innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Howard was tightlipped about the dollar amount, but Xavier reportedly received $20 million.
Scott promised to continue to pay it forward until the “safe is empty” in her announcement. “There’s no question in my mind that anyone’s personal wealth is the product of a collective effort, and of social structures which present opportunities to some people, and obstacles to countless others,” she wrote.
