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Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife MacKenzie Scott donates her two Beverly Hills mansions worth $55m to charity

The California Community Foundation, which was given the mansions earlier this year, plans to sell homes and spend funds on “affordable housing grant making” and immigrant integration program

Gustaf Kilander
Washington, DC
Friday 09 September 2022 09:59 BST
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MacKenzie Scott to donate $3.8B to charity, nonprofit featured in Community Champions makes list

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MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has donated two Beverly Hills homes for a total of $55m.

Ms Scott’s estimated net worth is $37bn. She owns four per cent of Amazon after selling $8.5bn in company stocks earlier this year. She has so far donated more than $12bn to charitable causes and groups.

The non-profit California Community Foundation (CCF), announced last month that the 52-year-old was giving up “two single-family residences valued at $55 million,” according to the New York Post.

Last year, Ms Scott married Dan Jewett, a high school chemistry teacher. She transferred the two mansions to the CCF on 29 July, according to records.

The novelist became the only owner of the mansions following her 2019 divorce from Mr Bezos after they had been married for 25 years.

They bought the first residence in 2007 for $24.45m. The property sits on two acres, with the home being built in a Spanish style and powered by solar panels. The 12,000 square feet (1,115 square metres) residence includes seven bedrooms and as many bathrooms.

Located on the same street, they bought the second home in 2017 for $12.9m. It measures 4,500 square feet (418 square metres) and was built in 1956.

The two residences are situated along North Alpine Drive in Beverly Hills.

The CCF has said that they plan on selling the homes, with 90 per cent of the money collected going to “affordable housing grant making,” according to The Post.

The group’s immigrant integration program will receive the remaining funds to “advance opportunities for the millions of immigrants from throughout the world who call Los Angeles County home”.

Ms Scott is based in Seattle where she previously lived with Mr Bezos in Medina at a property with 310 feet (94 metres) of shoreline and a boathouse. She’s now thought to live in nearby Hunts Point, The Post noted.

An unidentified buyer, widely believed to be Ms Scott, bought a $37.5m mansion in Hunts Point in April 2019, some months after her divorce from Mr Bezos was announced.

The estate covers 9,400 square feet (873 square metres). Records reveal that more than $400,000 have been spent on renovations. The property has three bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms and sits on 3.27 acres. It’s owned by a private trust.

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