Feature A Philanthropist
MacKenzie Scott is a philanthropist, author, and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos. I decided to research her as I was curious what a wealthy woman donates to and what a powerful woman in the nonprofit sector looks like. Scott was married to Jeff Bezos for 25 years before getting divorced. Upon their divorce, she received 25% of Amazon. She is known to be very press shy and enjoys her privacy. Scott is quickly making a name for herself separate from her ex-husband; she is one of the best known philanthropists in the world.
MacKenzie Scott is one of the most generous billionaires alive. An accomplished author, Scott won the ‘Outstanding Literary Achievement’ in 2006. She has published a handful of novels in her life. She and former husband Jeff Bezos have four children together after getting married in 1993. Scott was born in San Francisco, California and loved literature from a young age. She graduated from Princeton University with an English degree. Her philanthropic career began once she divorced Jeff Bezos and received 25% of the billion dollar company he created, Amazon.
Scott has given away over $12.7 billion to over 1,200 nonprofits. She has signed the Giving Pledge, promising to donate half her wealth within her lifetime. Scott has publicly announced her intentions to give away all of her wealth to those in need. While no statements have been directly made as to why she is so generous in her donating, she has stated that she is absurdly wealthy and wants to disperse her wealth. One article quotes her saying “as always our aim has been to support the needs of underrepresented people from groups of all kinds.” She has a no strings attached style of giving where the nonprofits have full control over how to best spend new funds. Not only does she heavily contribute to the nonprofit sector, she also has donated five times more than her ex husband Jeff Bezos, who is one of the world’s richest people. Forbes states that Scott donates to a multitude of organizations including small nonprofits to household names such as Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood. A larger list of where she donates can be found at Helping Any of Us Can Help Us All | by MacKenzie Scott | Medium. Scott specifically donates to organizations promoting equity and groups led by women, people of color, and that are in the LGBTQ+ community. Scott posts updates on her blog as to where she donates and how much she donates. She posts in essay form and explains her view that she’s “attempting to give away a fortune that was enabled by systems in need of change” and how “we can begin by acknowledging that people working to build power from within the communities are the agents of change. Their service supports and empowers people who go on to support and empower others.” Scott donates such a vast amount of money as she wants to make the world a better place. She embodies using her time, talent, and treasure in her charitable pursuits. In time, Scott will donate all of her wealth to those in need. She uses her talent and treasure of writing and being wealthy to make a difference. Through her talent of writing, she helps educate people on nonprofits and the importance of them via her blog. Scott has billions of dollars from her old marriage, this is the treasure she uses to implement change. Her mantra and title of her blog is “Helping any of us can help us all” which alludes to her mission statement and desire to help others. Scott also donates to food banks and heavily contributed to philanthropy during the worst of the Covid pandemic. Scott has impacted thousands of lives in different ways. By donating to hundreds of different nonprofits, Scott maximizes her impact on both local communities and society as a whole. Forbes says that Scott never accepts any awards for her philanthropic nature. She doesn’t make public appearances or give interviews to the media; the only communication about her philanthropy comes from semi-yearly updates on a blogging site. This is extremely admirable as many famous people enjoy the spotlight they receive for philanthropic works. In contrast, Scott doesn’t donate for the glory or fame but for her own altruistic intentions.
Learning about how Scott donates and changes lives empowers me to do the same. I admire the way she donates selflessly, with no regard to public approval but only to the lives she helps make better. Through my research, I have found that I want to mirror my philanthropic pursuits similar to MacKenzie Scott. With her hands off approach and massive impact, MacKenzie Scott is an incredible philanthropist who is making the world better everyday.
Resources used:
$12 Billion to 1,257 Groups: MacKenzie Scott's Donations So Far
MacKenzie Scott has given away more money in 2 years than ex-husband Jeff Bezos has in his lifetime
MacKenzie Scott Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family & Achievements of Novelist & Journalist