MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, has cut her Amazon stake by 42% over the past year, according to newly filed regulatory paperwork. The reduction amounts to 58 million shares, worth some $12.6 billion, leaving her with 81.1 million shares in the company. As of this week, Scott's net worth stands at an estimated $32.4 billion, making her the 68th richest person in the world, per Forbes.
The 55-year-old, who received a 4% stake in Amazon after her 2019 divorce from Bezos has given around $20 billion to various causes, including $2 billion last year, but her fortune has actually grown since the split due to the company's surging stock price, Bloomberg reports. Scott has pledged to give away the bulk of her fortune. Through her foundation, Yield Giving, she has made donations to over 2,450 nonprofits.
Her philanthropy focuses on causes like affordable housing, jobs, and healthcare, with Yield Giving known for its low-profile approach and no-strings-attached grants. Two more major donations were announced this week: $40 million to the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and $63 million to Morgan State University, a historically Black university.
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Scott, 55, was a key early player at Amazon, helping with the startup's accounting, brainstorming company names, and shipping out early orders, the Independent reports. She met Bezos while working at hedge fund DE Shaw in the early '90s, and the couple married in 1993, a year before Amazon's founding. They share four children.
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