MacKenzie Scott has donated an estimated $146 million to 24 nonprofits so far this year
MacKenzie Scott has already donated an estimated total of $146 million to 24 nonprofits this year, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Scott, whose ex-husband is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, usually posts a tally of her donations on her Yield Giving website, but has not listed any for 2023. So, the Chronicle tallied up which organizations have publicly stated they received a donation from Scott in 2023.
Scott's donations range from $1 million to $15 million and she has given to organizations like Parent Possible – an early childhood education program – and Fistula Foundation, which helps women receive treatment for obstetric fistula, a hole near their birth canal that can develop during labor, especially if they don't have access to high-quality medical care.
Most of the charities she has chosen this year focus on early childhood education and development, according to The Chronicle, which says there are likely more charities who have not announced that they received a gift from Scott this year.
Scott has a net worth of $36.2 billion, making her the 35th wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes. When her 25-year marriage to then-Amazon CEO Bezos ended in 2019, Scott received a 4% stake in the company, skyrocketing her personal net worth.
The $146 million she is estimated to have donated this year is just 0.4% of her current net worth.
Like many of the wealthiest Americans, Scott signed The Giving Pledge, which asks billionaires to commit the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. The pledge, created by Warren Buffett, Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates, has been signed by high-profile billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
Scott's ex-husband Jeff Bezos has notably not signed the pledge, but he has said he will give away most of his money to charities.
Scott has written two books, one of which was reviewed by her former teacher, author Toni Morrison. She founded Yield Giving in 2020.
Through Yield Giving, Scott started an "open call" earlier this year, which invited organizations to apply for monetary gifts from Scott. She pledged to give a total of $250 million to the select organizations. Yield Giving used to rely on what they call "quiet research" to find candidate organizations to give to.
The organizations they chose have operating budgets of $1 million and no more than $5 million that are community-led and community-focused, according to Yield Giving.
Several of Scott's large donations have made headlines, including a $133.5 million donation to the education nonprofit Communities In Schools, which helps students navigate issues in and outside the classroom, in 2022. Last year she donated $25 million to Chicago Public Schools and $84.5 million to Girl Scouts of the USA.
In a March 2022 post on Medium, Scott revealed she had donated a whopping $3.8 billion to 465 charities since June the previous year. That's more than 10% of her current net worth.
Caitlin O'KaneCaitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.
