MacKenzie Scott philanthropist, author, and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has married a Seattle science teacher. Dan Jewett made the announcement in a letter to the website of the nonprofit organization the Giving Pledge on Saturday.
Mackenzie Scott, Ex-wife Of Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, Marries Seattle Science Teacher Dan Jewett
By
Zainab Pervez in
News
On 9th March 2021
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MacKenzie Scott, the world’s 22nd richest person, has found love again and has married Seattle science teacher Dan Jewett.
The ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—to whom she was married for 25 years—Scott is worth $53 billion.
She signed the Giving Pledge—a promise to give away half her fortune to charity in her lifetime—when her divorce with Bezos was finalized in 2019. She’s been an active philanthropist in the two years since, notably giving away $4 billion in the course of four months to underserved communities, including community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities. Fittingly, it is through the Giving Pledge that news of Scott’s marriage emerged.
"In a stroke of happy coincidence, I am married to one of the most generous and kind people I know—and joining her in a commitment to pass on an enormous financial wealth to serve others,” Jewett wrote in a Giving Pledge statement posted March 6.
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"It is strange to be writing a letter indicating I plan to give away the majority of my wealth during my lifetime, as I have never sought to gather the kind of wealth required to feel like saying such a thing would have particular meaning,” he wrote, noting that he has been a teacher for the “majority” of his life.
The couple apparently met at the Lakeside School, a private school that Scott’s children attend (and where Bill Gates went) and where Jewett is a chemistry teacher.
Jewett wrote: "I have been a teacher for the majority of my life, as well as a grateful student of the generosity of those around me. This has meant doing my best to follow their example by passing on resources of all kinds - from time, to energy, to material possessions - when I have had them to give.
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He continued: "I have seen many ways that MacKenzie has seen her efforts enhanced when she acts on the belief that those with common values but different perspectives, strengths, and experiences are essential to effecting positive change.
"We are united in that understanding and in our excitement for all we have to learn from so many people working in service of others. With that as a foundation, I join with the kindest and most thoughtful person I know in making this pledge, grateful for the exceptional privilege it will be to partner in giving away assets with the potential to do so much good when shared.
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Bezos congratulated the couple in a statement.
He said: "Dan is such a great guy, and I am happy and excited for the both of them."