MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has significantly reduced her stake in the e-commerce giant over the recent years. The move came as the philanthropist continues to make major donations to various diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. According to Sotheby’s International Realty, Scott has already donated $14 billion to causes including racial equality, LGBTQ+ equality, functional democracy and climate change. She now ranks sixth on the list of the world’s top 10 philanthropists, below Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett. According to the Sotheby’s list, Scott made donations “to fund nonprofit organisations that fight against racial injustice, promote gender equality and support public health initiatives.” According to a September filing with the SEC, Scott reduced her Amazon holdings by almost 42% from a year earlier. The filing, reported by Bloomberg, said she now holds 81.1 million Amazon shares, from 139 million shares a year earlier (reduced by 58 million). Her stake in Amazon is now worth almost $12.6 billion. The sale has come even though Amazon’s stock price has more than doubled since her divorce from Bezos in 2019. But as part of the divorce settlement, Bezos has retained the voting rights to Scott’s Amazon stake and is obligated to disclose them annually. However, the regulatory document did not indicate if the share reduction was a result of sales, donations, or both, this closely precedes Scott’s continued philanthropy.
Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott’s donation to Harvard University and other causes
In November, Scott made one of her largest single contributions by donating $80 million to Howard University. This historic gift was part of Scott’s recent focus on making substantial multimillion-dollar gifts to DEI and disaster relief causes. Observers note that the billionaire, estimated to be worth $35.6 billion, has been on a “philanthropic roll” in recent weeks.Scott’s donation was unrestricted, which gave Howard University the flexibility to allocate the funds where they are most needed. Specifically, $63 million is designated for the university’s general operations, while $17 million will directly support the College of Medicine.At that time, the university said that the gift arrived at an “opportune time” as the 43-day federal government shutdown which started on October 1, delayed the yearly funding that Howard normally receives. That funding helps support student success, academic programs, research, and operations at both the university and Howard University Hospital.The shutdown also stopped the Department of Education from giving out new grants. Almost 95% of the department’s workers who do not handle student aid were told to stop working, so only the most essential staff remainl on the job.Apart from this, Scott gave away $42 million to 10,000 Degrees, a Bay Area no-nprofit that helps low-income and mostly non-white students get into and finish college. She also made other large donations, including major funding for Native student scholarships and for HBCU endowments through the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).Furthermore, over the years, Scott donated to many different causes, including an $84 million gift to the Girl Scouts, $20 million to Vermont’s Champlain Housing Trust, $436 million to Habitat for Humanity, and $275 million to Planned Parenthood. In 2020, she had also given UNCF $10 million.After receiving about 4% of Amazonthrough her divorce from Bezos, Scott gave away $19 billion to more than 2,000 nonprofits over the past five years and yet, she is still worth more than $35 billion. The typical size of her many donations since the divorce was about $5 million.
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