After launching his successful Blue Origin flight on Tuesday morning, you’d think Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would be the talk of social media for making it to the edge of space on the heels of Richard Branson, and that’s happening to a degree. However, people have been actively highlighting that his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott has been donating literally billions to charity while Bezos has been financing what even he has admitted is a “joyride for the wealthy.”
It also didn’t help that following Blue Origin’s mission, Bezos made some apparently tone deaf references to Amazon employees, who have attempted to unionize amid allegedly unsafe and grueling work conditions to power the pervasive online shopping empire.
“I wanna thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all this,” Bezos announced after the extremely expensive launch. Oof.
Jeff Bezos: “I wanna thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all this.” pic.twitter.com/HTLORzbfnY
— The Recount (@therecount) July 20, 2021
Of course, it should be noted that the praise for Scott was already pouring in before Bezos basically thanked the little people for footing the bill for his 11 minute space ride, but his remarks only made Scott’s philanthropy look even notable.
While everyone watches Jeff Bezos not travel into space, a reminder that MacKenzie Scott, his former spouse and the 19th richest person in the world, set a record for highest ever charitable donations last year. She donated $5.8 billion in 2020, focusing on COVID relief pic.twitter.com/pbkJQy6ax3
— Rob Hoadley (@robhoadley) July 20, 2021
Jeff Bezos spent $5.5 billion and more than twenty years so that he can briefly travel to space.
MacKenzie Scott gave away $8 billion in less than a year to change other people’s lives forever.
— gettingsome (@gettingsome) July 20, 2021
I genuinely believe what Mackenzie Scott is doing is more interesting.
— Erin Fitzgerald (@gnomeloaf) July 20, 2021
Richard Branson AND Jeff Bezos getting dragged on the TL for wasting billions going to space while Mackenzie Scott trending #1 for donating billions to good cause.
Dear billionaires: in a world full of Bransons and Bezos be a Mackenzie Scott!! pic.twitter.com/CpKs7oGVDq
— La Verdad (@sotrusince79) July 20, 2021
yeah, jeff bezos made it to outer space for 11 minutes and millions of dollars later, but let’s not forget all of the REAL GOOD his ex-wife, mackenzie scott is doing with her fortune, helping worthy charities and those in need…
— Helen (@hel_pul) July 20, 2021
Mackenzie Scott donating her money to HBCUs while her ex cosplays being an astronaut definitively proves that girls go to college to get more knowledge and boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider. pic.twitter.com/seuMyjOk54
— Rohita Kadambi (@RohitaKadambi) July 19, 2021
While the vast majority of the tweets about Scott focused on the persistent concerns that Bezos and Branson’s space race is a use of resources that could be used to fix actual problems on Earth like the ongoing pandemic, global warming, systemic inequality, and a laundry list of issues, there were also some jabs about the joy of watching your ex get strapped to a rocket and blasted into space. That had to feel good.
Shout out to Mackenzie Scott, who gets to live out the dream of having your ex literally get off the face of the goddamned earth
— Hilary Matfess (@HilaryMatfess) July 20, 2021
I feel like we should be celebrating the real winner of #BlueOrigin. Not only did Mackenzie Scott get $50 billion in the divorce, her ex literally leaving the planet. pic.twitter.com/CKJCy2TeuM
— Aubry Andrews (@AubryAndrews) July 20, 2021
Today’s Blue Origin flight is supposed to take 11 mins total, but Mackenzie Scott keeps telling everyone it will probably be closer to two.
— Carmen Ribecca (@photochrist) July 20, 2021