Billionaire Donates Millions to Louisiana Non-profit Organizations

Lafayette, LA (KPEL News) - We have all dreamed of what we would do if we won a big jackpot from the Louisiana Lottery. Buy a house, pay off debt, and take a bucket-list trip likely land at the top of our wishes. Given that the average household income in the state of Louisiana is about $58,000, the majority of folks can't wrap their heads around what being a millionaire, much less a billionaire, feels like.

I'd like to think that, should we find ourselves rolling in the dough, we would set aside an allotment for our favorite non-profit causes so they can do work that speaks to our core values. Louisiana and, in particular, Lafayette residents have big hearts and do what they can. Imagine if what "they can" matched the size of said hearts.

In 2024, Jeff Bezos took the title as the world's richest person. The founder of Amazon edged out Elon Musk to capture the crown, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Get our free mobile app

Bezos, who is worth about $200-billion, and his wife Mackenzie Scott divorced in 2019 after 25 years of marriage. Scott walked away with millions of shares of Amazon stock and some cash and Forbes lists her net worth at just over $32-billion. Shortly after the divorce, she signed The Giving Pledge, a project created by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to encourage rich folks to donate a significant amount of their wealth to philanthropic causes.

Louisiana non-profits have certainly benefited from her generosity. Organizations were invited to apply for substantial grants, and a committee decided who would get the money. Scott donated $184,000,000 to about 50 organizations in the state that met the criteria for consideration. Of that, the Lafayette and Lake Charles areas have seen more than $35-million.

As stated on Scott's philanthropy website, the groups her panel chose are:

advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles.

The gifts were made from 2020 to 2022 and are just now gaining attention, likely because of the size of the collective gifts in Louisiana.

The following organizations in Lafayette and Lake Charles can now count Mackenzie Scott and Yield Giving as a benefactor:

Yield Giving also lists Young Men's Christian Association of the Capital Area (YMCA) as a recipient, and Lake Charles is noted as one of the service areas for the organization. To date, discussions are ongoing among community leaders about bringing the YMCA back to Lake Charles.