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MacKenzie Scott, Billionaire Philanthropist, Files for Divorce


Less than two years after announcing their intention to give away a huge fortune together, billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett, a former science teacher, have split.

Scott filed for divorce in King County Superior Court in Washington State on Monday, according to a copy of the filing. The split marks a tumultuous period for Ms. Scott, who, less than four years after her divorce from her longtime husband, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has given away more than $12 billion in donations. nonprofit organization and is married to a faculty member at the prestigious school her children attend. .

Court records show Mr Jewett has no objection to the divorce. The petition states that any division of property is presented in a separation agreement, agreed upon by the couple, and not made public. The two still live in King County, the filing said, which includes the city of Seattle.

Their marriage, which came to public attention after Miss Scott’s divorce from the world’s richest man, was also a philanthropic partnership, with Mr Jewett publicly promising to join her. donate their huge fortune to good causes.

But recently there have been signs that the partnership is no longer available. In the past, grateful nonprofits have received grants from Ms. Scott and Mr. Jewett have thanked both, but recent recipients have only thanked her.

In the last week, his name has disappeared from her philanthropic efforts. On the website for The Giving Pledge, where billionaires promise to give away half of their fortune before they die, his letter no longer appears with her. Without fanfare, his name was recently edited from a Medium post Miss Scott wrote last year about their gifts.

Ms. Scott, a novelist, also removed Mr. Jewett from her author bio on Amazon, the online retailer that is the source of her huge fortune.

She gained global attention when she began giving money at a rate rarely seen in the world of charity. After her divorce from Mr. Bezos, Ms. Scott assembled a team of advisors and began quietly donating millions of dollars to nonprofit groups totaling more than $12 billion in just three years.

In her May 2019 letter on Giving Pledge, Ms. Scott promised to “keep it until the safe is empty.” Bloomberg has her estimated net worth as high as $62 billion, but between the billions of dollars in her contributions and the stock market slump, her fortune now stands at $27.8 billion.

Two years later, in his own Giving Pledge, Mr. Jewett seemed brimming with enthusiasm. “I have married one of the most generous and kind people I know – and with her committed to passing on a huge financial fortune to serve others,” he wrote.

However, he also noted that he had not previously considered making any form of public statement about his philanthropic priorities because he “never sought to gather the kind of wealth needed.” to feel that saying such a thing would have a particular meaning.”

As recently as last week, according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, which keeps old versions of websites, his letter is still twinned with hers on the site, accompanied by a photo of the two they looked as if they were looking for hiking together. Today there is only one photograph of Miss Scott, along with her letter.

Ms. Scott has refused to speak publicly about her dedication, turning down repeated interview requests from news organizations including The New York Times. Her attorney did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Attempts to contact Mr. Jewett through friends, family and former colleagues and at an address affiliated with him in Seattle were unsuccessful. Through a legal assistant, his attorney declined to comment on the divorce.

Ms. Scott announced her charity in lengthy Medium posts listing the names of organizations that have received billions of dollars in accrual.

Last month, Miss Scott donate two houses in Beverly Hills, worth a total of $55 million, to the California Community Foundation. The fund’s affordable housing financing functions will receive 90 percent of the property’s value. Mr Jewett’s name, which has appeared in recent gift announcements, does not appear in the newsletter.

The Health Forward Foundation in Kansas City, Mo., announced Tuesday that it has received a gift of 15 million dollars from Miss Scott. Episcopal Health Foundation in Houston also announced recently that it received a $20 million grant from Ms. Scott. Neither notices mentioned Mr Jewett.

Mr. Jewett teaches at Lakeside School, Seattle’s prestigious private school attended by the Bezos children, where he is popular among students and other teachers.

Angela Loihl, who met Mr Jewett through a mutual friend, said: “He’s serious, not very harsh. Ms Loihl, who spent weeks in 2014 with Mr Jewett driving a small car from London to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, recalls how that mutual friend told her years later, after he married to Miss Scott, “He’s the perfect guy who ends up giving this money away – no greedy feelings at all. “

According to divorce filings, the couple married in California in 2021. News of their marriage surprised Mr. Jewett’s friends and colleagues – creating a whirlwind of coverage far beyond his expectations. , when reporters even appeared on the Lakeside campus. Despite ending his term there, Mr Jewett felt his presence on campus was a distraction.

His new wife is arguably the most influential philanthropist in the world with an approach that emphasizes massive donations – often the biggest gift a group receives – with no strings attached.

In his Giving Pledge letter published in March 2021, Mr. Jewett wrote that he was “grateful for the special privilege it will confer upon a partner in giving away assets capable of doing much good when shared. shall.”

In June 2021, Ms. Scott posted about her dedication on Medium, in which she wrote: “I, Dan, a team of researchers, administrators and advisors – we are all trying Try to give away a wealth of assets that are supported by the systems in need of change. At some point in the past week, searches on the Internet Archive showed that the post had been edited and Mr Jewett’s name removed from it.

Kitty Bennett contribution research.



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