Watching billionaires lock horns on social media can be a spectacle as dramatic as a blockbuster movie. The latest popcorn-worthy moment was served by tech maverick Elon Musk, who decided to meddle with the philanthropic efforts of MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Elon’s jab on X, formerly known as Twitter, came after a user posted about MacKenzie giving away her money to nonprofits.
“According to her fund's website, over half of the orgs to which she's donated so far deal with issues of race and/or gender,” one user wrote. “Her fund ought to be called The AWFL Fund. It's the ultimate aspirational expression of the most awful group in the US.”
Elon Musk made a jab at MacKenzie Scott's philanthropic efforts and later deleted the tweet
Image credits: STR/NurPhoto / Getty Images
Elon replied to the tweet, saying, "'Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse' should be listed among 'Reasons that Western Civilization died.'"
The tweet from the Tesla founder has since been deleted but can be found archived.
MacKenzie, who was married to Jeff for 25 years, has been growing as a philanthropic powerhouse ever since their 2019 divorce. After her finances were spruced up with $38 billion in Amazon shares following the divorce, MacKenzie has increasingly been focusing on charitable giving.
MacKenzie Scott and Jeff Bezos divorced in 2019 after more than two decades of marriage
Image credits: Taylor Hill / Getty Images
A number of colleges and nonprofits have unexpectedly received financial gifts from MacKenzie in recent years, including the Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black university in Texas that received $50 million from MacKenzie in 2021, according to AP News.
Following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a cop, MacKenzie was reportedly behind the top racial equity donations made in 27 states. She spent at least $567 million in making these donations, and we say “at least” because two of the organizations that received donations from her did not reveal the amount.
Elon Musk once said in the past that MacKenzie isn't a "big fan of her ex-husband"
While MacKenzie appears to strongly support causes related to race and gender, Elon appears to take a different stance on the issue.
He once showed strong opposition towards diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and called it “racism.”