Elon Musk has quitely deleted a post criticising MacKenzie Scott’s charitable donations to social justice causes. In his post, the billionaire called her a threat to society due to her social justice focus.
Despite deleting the post, Musk’s criticism of Scott’s philanthropy was already seen by many due to the wide reach of his social media account. Much to Musk’s chagrin, his deleted attack on Scott is now making the rounds online.
To those unaware, Scott is a wealthy philanthropist and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who leapfrogged Musk as the world’s richest person just days ago. Interestingly, a report claims Bezos thinks he and the Twitter owner are “very like-minded” with a lot of their endeavours. Following her divorce from Jeff Bezos in July 2019, Scott married a private school teacher in 2021.
MacKenzie Scott’s unrestricted giving draws fire from Elon Musk
“‘Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse’ should … be listed among ‘Reasons That Western Civilization Died,'” Musk wrote in a now-deleted X post. This impulsive behaviour on social coincides with Musk’s post-acquisition persona. However, even the self-proclaimed champion of free speech occasionally deletes posts that go too far.
Musk’s criticism targeted Scott’s reported charitable donations of $16.5 (£12.89) billion. This fortune stemmed from her 4 per cent stake in Amazon, received after their 25-year marriage ended with Bezos. The tech mogul was responding to another X user who said Scott had been giving money to organisations that “deal with issues of race and/or gender.”
The focus of Scott’s philanthropy, reportedly on social justice issues like race and gender, maybe what irks Musk. This aligns with the views expressed by the alt-right account he interacted with.
Who is Bezos’ ex giving money to?
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.
Her fund ought to be called The AWFL Fund. It’s the ultimate aspirational expression of the most awful group in the US. https://t.co/ONM1q0lhvP
— i/o (@eyeslasho) March 6, 2024
While it is unclear why Musk targeted Scott in particular, he has consistently criticised initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Taking to his official X account in January, the Tesla CEO wrote: “DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it.”
This is not the first instance of Musk criticising Scott’s charitable efforts. In May 2022, Musk switched his political allegiance to the Republican party due to a perceived lack of support for Tesla and SpaceX from the Democrats. He also suggested that Scott’s donations to certain charities may have influenced this treatment.
“It’s safe to say that MacKenzie [ahem] Scott is not exactly a big fan of her ex-husband. Unfortunately, a lot of others are getting caught in the crossfire,” Musk wrote in an X post at the time. Following her divorce from Bezos, Scott has been making waves with her philanthropy.
Yes. It’s safe to say that Mackenzie [ahem] Scott is not exactly a big fan of her ex-husband.
Unfortunately, a lot of others are getting caught in the crossfire.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2022
In 2022, she told Medium that she donated nearly $2 billion to “343 organizations supporting the voices and opportunities of people from underserved communities.”
Scott’s philanthropic approach is unlike many donors who impose restrictions. She reportedly grants unrestricted funding. This has been praised by beneficiaries who appreciate the freedom to direct the resources.
