1. Background
Skeptic: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
The person being questioned: MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Question: Musk questioned Scott's donations to nonprofits focused on issues such as racial equality, social justice, immigrant protection and LGBTQ+ rights.
2. Cause of doubt
Scott's donations: Since 2019, Scott has donated more than $19 billion to more than 2,450 nonprofits through the Yield Giving Fund. In addition, she has announced a donation of $640 million to 361 nonprofits, equivalent to about 4.6 billion yuan. These donations come from her Amazon shares.
Musk shares critical post: Musk shared a post written by writer and former banker John LeFevre criticizing Scott. In the post, LeFevre questioned Scott's donations and argued that her main impact was to provide a job scheme for the NGO/nonprofit complex, providing jobs for liberals who think they are over-degreed and qualified, and who believe in fanatical ideologies to assuage guilt, make themselves feel superior and philanthropic, and cover up hypocrisy.
3. Musk questions history
First question: In March 2024, Musk posted: "'Super-rich ex-wives who hate their exes' should be included in the 'reasons for the demise of Western civilization'", but later deleted the post.
Questioned again: In December 2024, Musk shared Lefevre's critical post again, again questioning Scott's charitable donations.
IV. Overview of Scott’s Charitable Donations
Donation philosophy: Scott adheres to the concept of giving back to society and actively fulfills the "Donation Pledge", promising to contribute as much of his wealth as possible during his lifetime.
Amount donated: Scott has sold or donated about 255 million shares of Amazon stock, totaling $37 billion. Since 2019, she has donated more than $19 billion to nonprofits through the Yield Giving Fund.
Donation method: Scott prefers to bypass complicated intermediary processes and directly inject funds into grassroots organizations to ensure that every penny can be accurately delivered to the people who need help most.
V. Social Response
Positive reviews: Scott's charitable donations have been widely praised and she is considered a generous philanthropist who actively gives back to the community and pays attention to the disadvantaged.
Negative comments: Skeptics, represented by Musk, believe that Scott's donation behavior may be problematic, such as providing employment opportunities for specific groups and believing in fanatical ideology.
In summary, Musk's questioning of Bezos' ex-wife's "charitable donations" has aroused widespread attention and discussion. Although Scott's charitable donations have been widely praised, there are also voices of doubt and criticism. However, in any case, Scott's donations have made positive contributions to charity.
