MacKenzie Scott is an American novelist and philanthropist, widely recognized as a former spouse of Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos and an early contributor to the company. Following her divorce in 2019, she received a substantial portion of Amazon stock, which has established her as one of the world's wealthiest individuals.
She is notable for her transformative approach to philanthropy, committing to donate the majority of her wealth through unrestricted, large-scale gifts. This has positioned her as a leading figure in modern charitable giving, earning her recognition on lists such as Time's 100 most influential people and Forbes' world's most powerful women.
Recently, Scott has been in the news for her continued philanthropic activities. In late 2025, multiple news outlets reported on her latest series of donations, which included contributions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This recent flurry of giving is consistent with her established pattern of making significant, no-strings-attached grants to educational institutions and non-profit organizations.
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- MacKenzie Scott Gives A Total Of $276 Million To Five More HBCUs - Forbes 2025-11-17 19:00 · Forbes
- What is MacKenzie Scott's net worth? Jeff Bezos's ex-wife donates over $700mn to ‘historically black colleges’ | Hindustan Times - Hindustan Times 2025-11-17 18:12 · Hindustan Times
- Best Leaders 2025: MacKenzie Scott - U.S. News & World Report 2025-11-17 18:00 · U.S. News & World Report
- HBCUs Gifted Nearly $300M in MacKenzie Scott’s Latest Donation Flurry - Inside Higher Ed 2025-11-17 16:02 · Inside Higher Ed
- Jeff Bezos's ex MacKenzie Scott contributes more than $700MILLION to 'historically black colleges' - Philanthropy News Digest 2025-11-17 16:00 · Philanthropy News Digest
- Jeff Bezos's ex gives $700MILLION to 'historically black colleges' - abdpost.com 2025-11-17 15:15 · abdpost.com
- Billionaire MacKenzie Scott makes more historic donations to HBCUs - abcnews.go.com 2025-11-17 10:20 · abcnews.go.com
- MacKenzie Scott Donates $50M to Bowie State, Continuing Major Investments in Maryland HBCUs - citybiz 2025-11-17 02:30 · citybiz
- MacKenzie Scott’s Billion-Dollar Defiance of America’s War on Diversity - BlackPressUSA 2025-11-17 00:21 · BlackPressUSA
- MacKenzie Scott HBCU Donations: Full List of Every School and Amount - HBCU Buzz 2025-11-17 00:10 · HBCU Buzz