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MacKenzie Scott isn’t just one of the world’s wealthiest women—she’s redefining what it means to give. Since her high-profile 2019 divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Scott has quietly donated more than $19 billion to thousands of organizations tackling issues like racial equity, education, and women’s rights. In 2021, she surprised many by marrying Seattle science teacher Dan Jewett, but the marriage ended quietly with a finalized divorce in early 2023.
Undeterred, Scott has only accelerated her philanthropy. In late 2024, she announced over $2 billion in new unrestricted grants, and she’s exploring mission-driven investments beyond traditional nonprofits. As she continues to reshape modern philanthropy, Scott’s bold, fast-paced approach is setting a new standard for how billionaires can use their wealth for good.
Find out more about MacKenzie Scott below.
She Was Married to Jeff Bezos for 25 Years
Scott and Bezos were married for 25 years before announcing their divorce in January 2019. In a joint statement shared on Bezos’ Twitter account at the time, they wrote: “After a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends. We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we were married. If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again.”
The two first met in 1992 while working at the New York hedge fund D.E. Shaw, married the following year, and moved to Seattle in 1994 to launch Amazon. Their marriage ended amid widespread media coverage and speculation surrounding Bezos’ relationship with Lauren Sánchez.
She’s Among the Richest Women in the World
With an estimated net worth of about $31 billion as of 2025, according to Forbes, Scott ranks among the top 10 richest women in the world.
At one point, she was also among the top 25 wealthiest individuals overall, with much of her fortune stemming from her divorce settlement with Bezos. The couple, who married without a prenup in 1993, split their assets during their 2019 divorce, leaving Scott with 25% of their Amazon shares—instantly making her one of the world’s richest women.
But giving away her fortune has become Scott’s primary mission. Since their divorce, she has become one of the most prolific philanthropists in history, donating more than $19 billion to thousands of organizations worldwide. In her latest major giving round announced in December 2024, she awarded over $2 billion in unrestricted grants to nearly 200 nonprofits.
In 2020, she revealed in a Medium post that she had donated $4.2 billion to 384 organizations, including food banks like Meals on Wheels, in the last four months. “This pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling,” she wrote. “Economic losses and health outcomes alike have been worse for women, for people of color, and for people living in poverty. Meanwhile, it has substantially increased the wealth of billionaires.”
She Has Four Kids
Scott and Bezos have four children together: three sons and one daughter, whom they adopted from China. Their eldest son, Preston (born in 2000), is the only child publicly identified, while the names and details of their other children have been kept private.
She’s a Published Author
Scott is an accomplished novelist, having written two books: The Testing of Luther Albright (2005) and Traps(2013). Her debut novel, The Testing of Luther Albright, won an American Book Award and took nearly a decade to complete. Bezos told Vogue in 2013 that he remembered waking up during vacations to find Scott writing in hotel bathrooms, as she prioritized their young children over her writing schedule.
She Founded an Anti-Bullying Organization in 2014
In 2014, Scott founded Bystander Revolution, an anti-bullying organization dedicated to empowering people to take simple actions to defuse bullying and promote kindness. As executive director, Scott has overseen the creation of a website featuring hundreds of unscripted videos with students, experts, and celebrities—including Ansel Elgort, Demi Lovato, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Dern, and Shailene Woodley—sharing their personal experiences with bullying and advice for standing up for others. The organization continues to provide practical resources and inspiration for individuals seeking to make a positive difference.
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