Latest news with #MacKenzieScott
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Inside Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos's blended family... including his VERY private children
After a two-year long engagement, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are due to tie the knot next week - and when they do, their families will officially become blended. The Amazon founder, who's net worth is $215 billio n, welcomed four children with his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, whom he married in 1993. The couple met while they working for the same investment management firm, D. E. Shaw & Co, and tied to knot a year before Bezos launched Amazon. They were together for 25 years before parting ways after his romance to Lauren was exposed, and they finalized their divorce in 2019. There is little known about Jeff and MacKenzie's four kids - three biological sons and a daughter they adopted from China - with all of them keeping a quiet profile despite their father's fame and fortune. Lauren, 55, on the other hand, welcomed a son, named Nikko Gonzalez, with footballer Tony Gonzalez in 2002 before splitting. She then walked down the aisle with Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell in 2005, and together, they had a son, named Evan Whitesell, in 2006 and a daughter, named Eleanor Whitesell, in 2008. They were together for more than a decade up until her affair with Jeff was brought to light in early 2019. With Lauren and Jeff's extravagant wedding plans in Venice, Italy, just days away, FEMAIL rounded up everything we know about their kids. Jeff and MacKenzie's eldest son Preston makes rare appearances with his father Jeff and MacKenzie's first child, a boy named Preston, was born in 2000. His name is a family moniker, with his father, grandfather and great grandfather having the middle name Preston. While Preston is rarely seen, he was snapped attending the Academy Awards with his dad in 2020. He was also spotted at the 2019 American Portrait Gala Preston reportedly attended Princeton University, as did both of his parents. He was also rumored to have completed a humanities and engineering degree from MIT, after Jeff was spotted at MIT's commencement ceremony in 2022. Jeff and MacKenzie share three other children together but they have shied away from the public eye The former also share two younger biological sons and an adopted daughter from China. However, the children's identifies are shrouded in mystery, with only Preston's name known to the public. The kids are rarely seen out or with their famous parental figures. One of the only times the Bezos bunch have been seen with their dad was almost 10 years ago at the Star Trek Beyond film premiere at Comic-Con International in San Diego in July 2016. Lauren has three children from previous relationships and her eldest son is a budding model Lauren's eldest son Nikko graduated from college in 2024 and is now a budding model. Her other kids Evan and Ella have opted to stay out of the spotlight so very little is known about them. In January 2023, Lauren spoke out about how she and her billionaire beau have blended their families, with her joking that she felt like they were the 'Brady Bunch' sometimes. 'On a typical Saturday, we hang out, we have dinner with the kids, which is always fun because you never know where the conversation is going to go with this many kids,' she told the Wall Street Journal. She also dished on co-parenting with her exes, specifically Tony, whom she branded as her 'best friend.' 'It wasn't always that way. There was friction [at the beginning]. But Tony and [his wife October "Tobie" Gonzalez] were at Thanksgiving with us [this year], and we're really good friends,' she explained. 'That took about five years, but we always communicated. I'm not saying that being best friends with your ex is the end-all be-all - but you do need to be able to communicate. 'I'm so proud of it. My son looks at me, and he's like, "I'm the luckiest boy in the world because I can have Thanksgiving with both my parents, and they don't have to be married."' She did not touch on her relationship with Patrick. What to expect from Lauren and Jeff's wedding The guest list is thought to have less than 200 people, with suspected guests including A-listers like Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom and even members of the Trump family. The Amazon boss has booked the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, one of the largest and grandest buildings in the historical center of Venice, as part of the multi-day-long extravaganza of celebrations. According to an insider, Jeff's $500 million superyacht, Koru, will be moored off the coast of San Georgio Maggiore island, which is home to the famous Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, a 16th century Benedictine church. They shared that the island is 'off-limits to visitors' from June 24 to June 29, with the mayor believing that the wedding will take place on the yacht - although The Misericodria, an iconic event space in Venice, has been booked out from June 26 to June 28. It's unclear if the space is related to their wedding, but the insider added that a private tender service is said to be taking guests from the island to the yacht. Separate sources recently told the Daily Mail that the festivities are expected to cost anywhere from $15 to $20 million.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Minnesota ‘assassin' found with ‘hit-list' of 70 names & addresses including Squad member Ilhan Omar and Jeff Bezos' ex'
THE man accused of fatally shooting a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband allegedly had a hit list with 70 names after being caught by police. Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of shooting and killing Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home on Saturday, along with injuring Senator John Hoffman and his wife in another shooting. 9 9 9 9 9 During the search for the suspect, investigators found a fake police vehicle that Boelter allegedly used to pose as a police officer to carry out the shootings. Inside the car, police found a cache of weapons, including at least three AK-47 assault rifles and a manifesto with the names and addresses of other public officials. There were about 70 names in the manifesto, some of which were abortion rights advocates, said law enforcement officials. Boelter was arrested near his home in Green Isle on Sunday night after a brief manhunt. He has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, according to Hennepin County court records. LIST OF DEATH Named on the list were Senator Amy Klobuchar and "squad member" Rep. Ilhan Omar, reported The Minnesota Star Tribune. Others include Congresswoman Kelly Morrison, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, and Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott. Some doctors who worked for Planned Parenthood were on the list, as well as several abortion clinics, including one that is scheduled to open in Omaha, Nebraska. Former congressman Dean Phillips claimed in an X post that he was on the list as well, writing, "I extend heartfelt gratitude to Minnesota's law enforcement professionals," after Boelter's arrest. "Now, we must take steps to prevent political violence before it's too late." Vance Boelter's car found as cops continue to hunt for 'fake cop' suspect who 'shot dead Melissa Hortman' in Minnesota The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans confirmed that investigators found the manifesto in a press briefing, saying the documents "gives some indications" on a possible motive. "This is not a document that would be like a traditional manifesto that's a treatise on all kinds of ideology and writings, Evans said. He called it a notebook "with a lot of lawmakers and others ... as opposed to a succinct document." "I don't want the public to have the impression that there's this long manifesto that's providing all of this information and details and then associated with names," he added. "It's much more about names." NIGHT OF TERROR Boelter was named as a suspect on June 14 after of Hortman and Hoffman. Hortman and her husband, Mark, were pronounced dead at their Brooklyn Park home. Timeline of Minnesota's shooting Vance Boelter has been arrested for the targeted shootings of Minnesota lawmakers Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman. Below is a timeline of events: Saturday, June 14 2 am - Cops receive a phone call about a shooting at Hoffman's house. Cops call nearby officers to proactively check Hortman's home because it's close by in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. 3:35 am - Police arrive at Hortman's home and find a car that looks like a cop car in her driveway. Officers see the suspect, dressed as a cop and wearing a latex mask, leaving the Hortman's house. Cops exchange gunfire with the suspect, who runs back into the home and leaves out the back door on foot. 7:11 am — A shelter-in-place warning is issued for three miles around Brooklyn Park. 7:35 am - Minnesota Governor Tim Walz posts on social media that he's been briefed on the shootings. 9:30 am - Walz and cops give the first news conference on the shootings and confirm the Hormans' deaths. Minnesotans are asked not to attend rallies taking place across the state. 3 pm - Law enforcement officers identify Boelter as the suspect and release multiple pictures of him wearing a mask and dressed like a cop. 3:20 pm - Police lift shelter-in-place in Brooklyn Park. 4:45 pm - The FBI offers a $50,000 reward for information leading to Boelter's arrest and conviction. Sunday, June 15 10:50 am - Boelter's car is found near Minnesota Highway 25 and 301st Avenue in Sibley County. Residents in the area are asked to lock their doors and stay in place. 9:30 pm - Boelter is arrested in the woods near his home in Green Isle, Sibley County. The couple's dog, Gilbert, was severely injured in the attack and had to be euthanized. "Her children had to put him down after learning their parents had been murdered," former Minnesota House member Erin Koegel said on X of Hortman's children. "Gilbert wasn't going to survive. Hoffman and his wife Yvette had surgery after suffering multiple gunshot wounds at their residence in Champlin, about nine miles away from the Hortmans. Officials said they are "cautiously optimistic" that the pair will survive what Governor Tim Walz called an "unspeakable tragedy" and a "politically motivated assassination." The Hoffmans' nephew revealed that the couple had been shot 11 times during the horror attack. He shared in a Facebook post how his aunt Yvette had thrown herself on top of her daughter to protect her. Boelter is scheduled to appear in court on Monday for the charges against him and a federal warrant for "unlawful flight to avoid prosecution." His other charges will soon be upgraded as the state "intends to pursue first-degree murder charges against Boelter," said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty at a news conference. The Department of Justice is also deciding to throw federal charges against Boelter, which, if convicted, could result in the death penalty. 9 9 9 9
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hundreds of billionaires pledged to give away $600 billion to charity—but the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett era of philanthropy may be over
The era of billionaire baby boomer men leading philanthropy is over—wealthy women are taking the reins, as the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett close an epoch of giving. Thanks to newly proposed tax policies, trust-based 'stealth giving' and female mega-donors like MacKenzie Scott are the future of philanthropy. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett ushered in a new Gilded Era of philanthropic giving, likened in influence to the Rockefellers and Carnegies. But charity work is about to look a whole lot different as higher taxes are threatened on liberal institutions, and new methods of giving are popularized by women mega-donors. Earlier this month, Gates announced that he would be sunsetting his foundation, giving away $200 billion by 2045 and expediting his plans to shed his $100 billion personal fortune. 'There's an air of anticipation in terms of if and how people are going to follow in his footsteps,' Amir Pasic, dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, tells Fortune. And with prolific philanthropist Warren Buffett recently announcing his planned departure from the helm of Berkshire Hathaway at the age of 94, even more change is expected. His Giving Pledge, with 240 billionaires reportedly pledging a pool of $600 billion, opened the hearts and pockets of the ulra-rich. The question arises if billionaires will pick up the torch and stay true to their promises when Buffett also inevitably parts from the pledge's limelight. Experts agree that a shift is on the horizon—but that doesn't mean a screeching halt to philanthropy altogether. In fact, it could open the door for a more diverse group of donors to take the lead. 'We're likely to see more women come out of the shadows,' Pasic predicts. Many billionaires have started foundations as a way to channel their philanthropic efforts, but a recent decision from the U.S. House of Representatives may upend that practice. Just this week, a budget reconciliation package was approved, which stipulated a tax of 10% on foundations with more than $5 billion in assets. 'The reason this is insidious is that it's going to really hit the big liberal foundations like Gates, Ford, and Soros,' Kathleen McCarthy, director for the center on philanthropy at CUNY, tells Fortune. 'Whereas the conservative foundations are much smaller and they will pay a much lower rate.' Thousands of liberal foundations led by billionaires including Gates, Scott, George Soros, and Mark Zuckerberg could be hit hard by these tax hikes. This could entirely change how billionaires approach philanthropy. '[Billionaires] will start looking at alternative mechanisms once they realize that they're going to be forced to sunset foundations,' McCarthy says. 'That's what's being jeopardized right now.' But some ultra-wealthy donors are already rewriting the rules; MacKenzie Scott's 'stealth giving' practice entails anonymously giving money directly to non-profits, trusting them to handle the funds as they see fit, with no expectations. According to McCarthy, as billionaires are driven away from the foundation-based model, they are pulled towards alternative ways of giving. This includes being inspired by Scott's inconspicuous, direct giving strategy as a way to get around the new taxes. 'I think she's a trendsetter and sort of moral ballast to the way that Gates has been,' Bella DeVaan, associate director of the charity reform initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies, tells Fortune. 'I do see that being not just a trend, but shifting common sense towards trust-based philanthropy.' Scott donates through her Yield Giving foundation, which has given over $19.25 billion to date across 2,450 non-profits, and experts say billionaires could be inspired to donate directly to organizations to ease the tax hit. DeVaan also predicts that Melinda French Gates will be a pioneer of the philanthropic LLC, an alternative to traditional foundations. Experts have pulled on a common thread between who is innovating philanthropy, and how the general make-up of mega-donors is changing: women are in the spotlight. With more than 200 new billionaires minted in 2024 alone, nearly four every week, more players are entering the field and women are stepping into wealth. Women being the face of philanthropy may become the status quo. When tasked with naming the rising stars of philanthropy to fill the big shoes of Gates and Buffett, experts are already noticing a few frontrunners. The one person on everyone's mind: charitable vagabond MacKenzie Scott. 'This is a woman making a pretty bold statement about how she's going to give her money away: by trusting the recipients, and not asking for any reporting back,' Pasic says. 'She's in contrast to the very technocratic way that Bill Gates has approached matters.' Experts also throw out names like Melinda French Gates, who also played a pivotal role in the Gates Foundation, and continues to be a leading voice in giving. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are pouring out money to innovate human health. They also note that women have long been benevolent philanthropists, only behind the scenes; Madam C.J. Walker, an African American woman who became the first self-made female millionaire, was a major donor at the turn of the 20th century. And in 2025—when U.S. women have even more access to wealth and power than ever before—this group will only be supercharged. Not only have they come into stable, high-paying executive positions, but many women have also grown to be financially savvy as they've gained control over their money and careers. 'You'll see women becoming much more prominent mega donors,' McCarthy says. 'They're very comfortable handling money. They're very comfortable doing research, and they're looking for ways to change the system.' This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hundreds of billionaires pledged to give away $600 billion to charity—but the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett era of philanthropy may be over
The era of billionaire baby boomer men leading philanthropy is over—wealthy women are taking the reins, as the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett close an epoch of giving. Thanks to newly proposed tax policies, trust-based 'stealth giving' and female mega-donors like MacKenzie Scott are the future of philanthropy. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett ushered in a new Gilded Era of philanthropic giving, likened in influence to the Rockefellers and Carnegies. But charity work is about to look a whole lot different as higher taxes are threatened on liberal institutions, and new methods of giving are popularized by women mega-donors. Earlier this month, Gates announced that he would be sunsetting his foundation, giving away $200 billion by 2045 and expediting his plans to shed his $100 billion personal fortune. 'There's an air of anticipation in terms of if and how people are going to follow in his footsteps,' Amir Pasic, dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, tells Fortune. And with prolific philanthropist Warren Buffett recently announcing his planned departure from the helm of Berkshire Hathaway at the age of 94, even more change is expected. His Giving Pledge, with 240 billionaires reportedly pledging a pool of $600 billion, opened the hearts and pockets of the ulra-rich. The question arises if billionaires will pick up the torch and stay true to their promises when Buffett also inevitably parts from the pledge's limelight. Experts agree that a shift is on the horizon—but that doesn't mean a screeching halt to philanthropy altogether. In fact, it could open the door for a more diverse group of donors to take the lead. 'We're likely to see more women come out of the shadows,' Pasic predicts. Many billionaires have started foundations as a way to channel their philanthropic efforts, but a recent decision from the U.S. House of Representatives may upend that practice. Just this week, a budget reconciliation package was approved, which stipulated a tax of 10% on foundations with more than $5 billion in assets. 'The reason this is insidious is that it's going to really hit the big liberal foundations like Gates, Ford, and Soros,' Kathleen McCarthy, director for the center on philanthropy at CUNY, tells Fortune. 'Whereas the conservative foundations are much smaller and they will pay a much lower rate.' Thousands of liberal foundations led by billionaires including Gates, Scott, George Soros, and Mark Zuckerberg could be hit hard by these tax hikes. This could entirely change how billionaires approach philanthropy. '[Billionaires] will start looking at alternative mechanisms once they realize that they're going to be forced to sunset foundations,' McCarthy says. 'That's what's being jeopardized right now.' But some ultra-wealthy donors are already rewriting the rules; MacKenzie Scott's 'stealth giving' practice entails anonymously giving money directly to non-profits, trusting them to handle the funds as they see fit, with no expectations. According to McCarthy, as billionaires are driven away from the foundation-based model, they are pulled towards alternative ways of giving. This includes being inspired by Scott's inconspicuous, direct giving strategy as a way to get around the new taxes. 'I think she's a trendsetter and sort of moral ballast to the way that Gates has been,' Bella DeVaan, associate director of the charity reform initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies, tells Fortune. 'I do see that being not just a trend, but shifting common sense towards trust-based philanthropy.' Scott donates through her Yield Giving foundation, which has given over $19.25 billion to date across 2,450 non-profits, and experts say billionaires could be inspired to donate directly to organizations to ease the tax hit. DeVaan also predicts that Melinda French Gates will be a pioneer of the philanthropic LLC, an alternative to traditional foundations. Experts have pulled on a common thread between who is innovating philanthropy, and how the general make-up of mega-donors is changing: women are in the spotlight. With more than 200 new billionaires minted in 2024 alone, nearly four every week, more players are entering the field and women are stepping into wealth. Women being the face of philanthropy may become the status quo. When tasked with naming the rising stars of philanthropy to fill the big shoes of Gates and Buffett, experts are already noticing a few frontrunners. The one person on everyone's mind: charitable vagabond MacKenzie Scott. 'This is a woman making a pretty bold statement about how she's going to give her money away: by trusting the recipients, and not asking for any reporting back,' Pasic says. 'She's in contrast to the very technocratic way that Bill Gates has approached matters.' Experts also throw out names like Melinda French Gates, who also played a pivotal role in the Gates Foundation, and continues to be a leading voice in giving. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are pouring out money to innovate human health. They also note that women have long been benevolent philanthropists, only behind the scenes; Madam C.J. Walker, an African American woman who became the first self-made female millionaire, was a major donor at the turn of the 20th century. And in 2025—when U.S. women have even more access to wealth and power than ever before—this group will only be supercharged. Not only have they come into stable, high-paying executive positions, but many women have also grown to be financially savvy as they've gained control over their money and careers. 'You'll see women becoming much more prominent mega donors,' McCarthy says. 'They're very comfortable handling money. They're very comfortable doing research, and they're looking for ways to change the system.' This story was originally featured on
Time Magazine
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time Magazine
Cecilia Conrad
In 2023, when Yield Giving founder MacKenzie Scott wanted to give $250 million to 250 charities serving low-income households and people facing discrimination, she turned to Cecilia Conrad for help choosing which groups most deserved the grants. Conrad runs Lever for Change, a nonprofit that connects donors with organizations through 'open calls,' or competitions for funding, then brings in experts to evaluate applicants for financial soundness, impact, and effectiveness. It's a reversal of the typical invitation-only system most foundations use for grants, and gave, on the one hand, little-known nonprofits a shot at significant funding and, on the other, donors a chance to discover compelling new groups to support. The upshot for Scott? Lever for Change identified so many promising organizations that last year she ended up more than doubling her initial pledge, giving away $640 million to 361 groups, chosen from more than 6,000 applicants. Such is the transformative power of Conrad, a Stanford-trained economics professor-turned philanthropy executive who previously led the MacArthur Foundation's Fellows program, aka its 'Genius' grants. She founded Lever for Change in 2019 to dismantle barriers in philanthropy. 'There are donors who want to fund creative, effective organizations and creative, effective organizations who need funding but they have trouble finding each other,' Conrad says. To date, Lever for Change, which has also advised LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, has influenced $2.5 billion in donations to more than 500 charities. And more is coming: The organization is now vetting hundreds more charities to help Melinda French Gates decide how to allocate $250 million to improve women's health. 'We exist to help donors discover new ideas, new potential," Conrad says.
