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MacKenzie Scott
United States
Net Worth
$60B
Source of Wealth
Amazon
Global Rank
#27 of 157
About MacKenzie Scott
MacKenzie Scott is one of the most impactful philanthropists in modern history and a gifted novelist whose generosity has reshaped the landscape of charitable giving. After co-founding Amazon alongside Jeff Bezos in 1994 and playing a crucial role in the company's earliest days — including helping write the business plan and doing the bookkeeping — she emerged as a powerful force for good in her own right. Her Amazon stake, received as part of the couple's 2019 divorce settlement, made her one of the wealthiest women in the world.
What truly sets MacKenzie Scott apart is the speed, scale, and thoughtfulness of her philanthropy. Since signing the Giving Pledge in 2019, she has donated more than $16 billion to over 1,600 organizations, often giving large unrestricted gifts that empower nonprofits to deploy funds where they see the greatest need. Her approach — trusting organizations and their leaders rather than imposing conditions — has been widely praised as a revolutionary model for modern philanthropy.
Scott is also an accomplished author whose novel "The Testing of Luther Albright" won the American Book Award in 2006. Trained under the legendary Toni Morrison at Princeton, she brings the same depth of thought and care to her writing as she does to her philanthropic mission. Her commitment to equity, education, racial justice, and community empowerment has made a tangible difference in the lives of millions of people.
Key Achievements
Historic Philanthropic Giving
Donated over $16 billion to more than 1,600 organizations in just a few years, making her one of the fastest and most generous philanthropists in history, with a focus on equity, education, and underserved communities.
Co-Founded Amazon
Played a foundational role in the creation of Amazon in 1994, contributing to the business plan, early operations, and accounting that helped launch what would become the world's largest online retailer.
American Book Award Winner
Won the 2006 American Book Award for her debut novel 'The Testing of Luther Albright,' demonstrating exceptional literary talent cultivated under the mentorship of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.
Revolutionary Giving Model
Pioneered a trust-based philanthropic approach, giving large unrestricted gifts directly to organizations, eliminating bureaucratic overhead and empowering nonprofits to act on their own expertise.
Giving Pledge Signatory
Signed the Giving Pledge in 2019, committing to donate the majority of her wealth to charitable causes and inspiring a new generation of philanthropists to follow suit.
Notable Quotes
“There's no question in my mind that anyone's personal wealth is the product of a collective effort, and of social structures which present opportunities to some people, and obstacles to countless others.”
— MacKenzie Scott
“I want to de-emphasize privileged voices and cede focus to others.”
— MacKenzie Scott
“Giving away money takes as much attention and knowledge as building a fortune.”
— MacKenzie Scott
Key Decisions
Co-founded Amazon with Jeff Bezos, leaving a comfortable career in New York to move to Seattle and help build an online bookstore that would revolutionize global commerce.
Signed the Giving Pledge, publicly committing to donate the majority of her fortune and setting the stage for one of the most extraordinary philanthropic efforts in history.
Began her unprecedented giving campaign, donating $5.8 billion in just the second half of the year to food banks, racial equity funds, and community organizations nationwide.
Continued accelerating donations with billions more distributed to hundreds of organizations, establishing a new paradigm of speed and trust in large-scale philanthropy.
Portfolio & Holdings
Notable public equity positions associated with MacKenzie Scott.
AMZN
Amazon
Life Lessons & Insights
Trust the People Closest to the Problem
Scott's philanthropic philosophy is built on the insight that the people running organizations on the ground understand their communities far better than any outside donor. By giving unrestricted gifts, she empowers leaders to act on their own expertise rather than contorting their work to fit a donor's priorities.
Speed Is a Form of Generosity
While many billionaires accumulate wealth in foundations that disburse slowly over decades, Scott has demonstrated that getting money to where it is needed as quickly as possible multiplies its impact. Communities in crisis cannot wait for a foundation's five-year strategic plan.
Wealth Is a Collective Product
Scott has been explicit that personal wealth is the product of collective effort and social structures. This belief — that fortune is never purely individual — shapes her conviction that giving it away is not generosity but obligation.
Philanthropy
MacKenzie Scott has redefined modern philanthropy with a giving model that prioritizes speed, trust, and equity. Since signing the Giving Pledge in 2019, she has donated more than $16 billion to over 1,600 organizations — a pace of charitable giving that is virtually unprecedented in history. What makes her approach revolutionary is its simplicity: rather than creating a large foundation with extensive bureaucracy, Scott identifies high-impact organizations, conducts rigorous research, and then gives large, unrestricted gifts that empower leaders on the ground to deploy resources where they see the greatest need.
Her giving has been particularly focused on organizations serving communities that have been historically underfunded — including food banks, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, community development financial institutions, and organizations promoting racial equity and gender equality.
Deep Dives
Go deeper into what makes MacKenzie Scott exceptional.
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