All about Jeff Bezos' ex-wife Mackenzie Scott as the Amazon co-founder donates $640 million to non-profits

Billionaire philanthropist and Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, is giving $640 million to charity. The Amazon co-founder's organization, Yield Giving, announced the news on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. It was also mentioned that the funds would go to 361 small non-profits that responded to an open call for applications.

Over 6300 non-profit organizations with annual budgets between $1- $5 million applied for the funding. Yield Giving's donation is more than double what Scott originally planned to donate through the process, which was 250 awards of $1 million each. According to Lever for Change, the organization that managed the open call,

"In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount."

Per her website, Mackenzie Scott has donated millions to charities that focus on causes like gender equality, racial justice, LGBTQ+, equity, public health, climate change, and functional democracy. Per a statement by Lever for Change, 279 non-profits will receive $2 million each, while the remaining will receive $1 million.

---

Mackenzie Scott has a net worth of $40.6 billion, making her the third-richest woman in the United States

Born in April 1970, the 53-year-old novelist and philanthropist co-founded Amazon with her ex-husband Jeff Bezos. The couple divorced in 2019 after 25 years of marriage.

According to Forbes, as of January 2024, Scott has a 4% stake in Amazon and boasts a net worth of $40.6 billion, making her the third richest woman in the United States and 47th individual in the world. Forbes named her the world's most powerful woman in 2021 and listed her among Time's 100 most influential people in 2020.

The 53-year-old is one of the individuals who signed the Giving Pledge, a charitable campaign founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, committing to giving off at least half her wealth to charity. Mackenzie Scott also founded Bystander Revolution in 2014, an anti-bullying organization.

Per a CBS report, as of December 2022, Scott has donated $14 billion to over 1600 charitable organizations. In 2020, she donated $5.8 billion, one of the largest annual distributions given by a private individual.

---

Several others have praised Mackenzie Scott's charitable efforts. Megan Peterson of the Minnesota-based nonprofit Gender Justice told the Associated Press,

"I think she’s really helping to set a new path for philanthropy broadly, which is with that philosophy of: Find people doing good work and give them resources and then get out of the way."

Scott's donations this year included organizations like the ACLU of Alabama, the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants, and the Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies.

However, just days before the announcement, X owner Elon Musk took to his social media platform to blast Scott. In a now-deleted March 6 post, he wrote:

"'Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse' should be listed among 'Reasons that Western Civilization died.'"

While Musk did not elaborate on his comment, he has been known to harshly criticize the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) cause.