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MacKenzie Scott

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the musician named Mackenzie Scott, see Torres (musician).
Not to be confused with Scott MacKenzie (disambiguation).

MacKenzie Scott
Born
MacKenzie Scott Tuttle

(1970-04-07) April 7, 1970 (age 56)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Other nameMacKenzie Bezos
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Occupations
  • Novelist
  • philanthropist
OrganizationYield Giving
Notable workThe Testing of Luther Albright
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1993; div. 2019)​
  • Dan Jewett
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2021; div. 2023)​
Children4
AwardsAmerican Book Award (2006)

MacKenzie Scott (née Tuttle, formerly Bezos; born April 7, 1970)[1][2] is an American novelist, philanthropist, and early contributor to Amazon. She was married to Jeff Bezos, the co-founder of Amazon, from 1993 to 2019.

As of December 2025, she had a net worth of US$40.0 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, owning a 1.3 percent stake in Amazon.[3][4][5] As such, Scott was the third-wealthiest woman in the United States and the 40th-wealthiest person in the world.[5] Scott was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2020 and one of the world's 100 most powerful women by Forbes in 2021, 2023 and 2025.[6][7][8]

In 2006, Scott won an American Book Award for her 2005 debut novel, The Testing of Luther Albright.[9] Her second novel, Traps, was published in 2013.

She has been executive director of Bystander Revolution, an anti-bullying organization, since she founded it in 2014.[10] She is committed to giving at least half of her wealth to charity as a signatory to the Giving Pledge.[11] Scott made $5.8 billion in charitable gifts in 2020, one of the largest annual distributions by a private individual to working charities.[12][13] She donated a further $2.7 billion in 2021.[14] As of December 2025, Scott had given a total of $26.3 billion to over 1,600 charitable organizations through her vehicle, Yield Giving.[4][15][16]

Early life and education

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MacKenzie Scott Tuttle was born on April 7, 1970, in San Francisco, California, to Holiday Robin (née Cuming), a homemaker, and Jason Baker Tuttle, a financial planner.[17][18] She has two brothers.[17] She says she remembers writing seriously at the age of six, when she wrote The Book Worm, a 142-page book that was destroyed in a flood.[19]

In 1988, she graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut.[20] In 1992, Tuttle earned her bachelor's degree in English from Princeton University, where she studied under Nobel Laureate in Literature, Toni Morrison, who in 2013 described her as "one of the best students I've ever had in my creative writing classes".[19][18]

Career

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After graduating from college, Tuttle worked as a research assistant to Toni Morrison for the 1992 novel Jazz.[19] She also worked in New York City in an administrative role for hedge fund D. E. Shaw, where she met Jeff Bezos.[19]

Amazon

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In 1993, Scott and Bezos married. The following year, they left D. E. Shaw, moved to Seattle, and Bezos founded Amazon with Scott's support. Scott was one of Amazon's early key contributors, and was heavily involved in Amazon's early days, working on the company's name, business plan, accounts and order shipping,[19][9] and negotiating the company's first freight contract.[9] After 1996, Scott took a less involved role in the business, focusing on her literary career and family.[19] Their oldest son was born in 2000.[21]

Literary career

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Scott was introduced to the literary agent Amanda "Binky" Urban by Toni Morrison, her former professor.[18] In 2005, she published her debut novel, The Testing of Luther Albright, which won an American Book Award in 2006. Scott said that the book took her ten years to write as she was helping Bezos build Amazon and raising her family.[22] Toni Morrison reviewed the book as "a rarity: a sophisticated novel that breaks and swells the heart".[19] Her second novel, Traps, was published in 2013. According to NPD BookScan, sales of her books were modest.[19]

Personal life

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At a naturalization ceremony on June 14, 2016 (center in the back)

Scott was married to Jeff Bezos,[23][24] whom she met while working as an administrative assistant at D. E. Shaw in 1992. After three months of dating, they married and moved from Manhattan to Seattle, Washington, in 1994.[19] They have four children: three sons and an adopted daughter.[25] Their oldest son was born in 2000.[21]

Their community property divorce in 2019 left Scott with $35.6 billion in Amazon stock, but her former husband retained 75% of the couple's Amazon stock.[19] She became the third-wealthiest woman in the world and one of the wealthiest people overall in April 2019.[26][19] In July 2020, Scott was ranked the 22nd-richest person in the world by Forbes with a net worth estimated at $36 billion.[27] By September 2020, Scott was named the world's richest woman, and by December 2020, her net worth was estimated at $62 billion.[28][29]

After her divorce from Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Bezos changed her name to MacKenzie Scott, with the surname deriving from her middle name given at birth, which was the surname of her maternal grandfather, G. Scott Cuming.[17][2]

In 2021, Scott married Lakeside School science teacher Dan Jewett.[30] The marriage was revealed in Jewett's Giving Pledge letter posted in March 2021.[31][32] In September 2022, Scott filed for divorce, which was finalized in January 2023.[33][34]

In December 2024, Scott announced that she began to direct her advisors to invest her wealth in for-profit companies and funds seeking solutions to societal challenges.[35]

Philanthropy

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Main article: Yield Giving

Since her divorce from Bezos, Scott has become a major philanthropist. In May 2019, Scott signed the Giving Pledge, a charitable-giving campaign in which she undertook to give away most of her wealth to charity over her lifetime or in her will.[36] Much of her philanthropy is organized through Yield Giving which she uses to distribute her wealth with an emphasis on trust-based, high-impact giving. Launched publicly in 2022, Yield Giving reflects her philosophy of “adding value by giving up control,” prioritizing unrestricted donations to community-led organizations and underserved institutions.[37][38]

As of the end of 2025, Scott had given away a total of $26.3 billion.[39]

Donations

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In a July 2020 Medium post,[40] Scott announced that she had donated $1.7 billion to 116 non-profit organizations, with a focus on racial equality, LGBTQ+ equality, democracy, and climate change.[41]

In December 2020, less than six months later, Scott stated that she had donated a further $4.15 billion in the previous four months to 384 organizations, with a focus on providing support to people economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing long-term systemic inequities.[42]

Scott announced another $2.7 billion in giving to 286 organizations in June 2021.[43] Forbes reported that Scott donated $8.5 billion across 780 organizations in one year (July 2020 to July 2021).[38] In February 2022, nine organizations announced gifts from Scott totaling $264.5 million.[44] On March 23, 2022, more gifts were announced, including $436 million to Habitat for Humanity[45] and $275 million to Planned Parenthood.[46][47] In May 2022, the Big Brothers, Big Sisters foundation reported a $122.6 million donation from Scott.[48]

In April 2022, The New York Times reported that Scott's donations since 2019 have exceeded $12 billion.[17] As of November 2022, Scott had donated almost $14 billion to 1500 organizations.[15]

In March 2023, Scott announced an "open call" for community-focused nonprofits with annual budgets between $1 and $5 million[16] that she could fund.[49] Lever for Change announced that Scott's open call for grants prompted 6,000 applicants.[16] The result was announced on March 19, 2024.[50] She ended up donating $640 million to 361 small nonprofits, giving more than double what the original open call planned for,[50] with 279 non-profits receiving $2 million each, and 82 groups receiving $1 million each.[51][52]

In December 2021, Scott faced backlash for a Medium post when she stated she would not reveal how much money she has donated or to whom.[53] She subsequently announced that her team would build a website to share details of her philanthropy.[53] In December 2022, she posted the link to her donation database, called Yield Giving.[4][54] Per the website, "Yield is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control."[37]

Bibliography

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  • The Testing of Luther Albright. Fourth Estate. 2005. ISBN 006075141X. LCCN 2004063235.
  • Traps. Knopf. 2013. ISBN 9780307959737. LCCN 2012029032.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Trotter, J.K. (January 22, 2019). "What we know, and don't know, about Jeff Bezos' religious beliefs". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2020. ...marriage of Jeffrey Preston Bezos and MacKenzie Scott Tuttle.
  2. ^ a b Statt, Nick (July 28, 2020). "MacKenzie Scott has already donated nearly $1.7 billion of her Amazon wealth since divorcing Jeff Bezos". The Verge. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  3. ^ "MacKenzie Scott". Forbes.
  4. ^ a b c "Here's how much money MacKenzie Scott has given away in recent years". www.cbsnews.com. CBS. December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: MacKenzie Scott". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  6. ^ "World's Most Powerful Women 2023". Forbes. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "MacKenzie Scott: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020". Time. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020.
  8. ^ "Forbes Profile: Makenzie Scott, Yeild Giving (#11 Power Women Ranking)". Forbes. December 10, 2025. Archived from the original on January 9, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c "MacKenzie Bezos and the Myth of the Lone Genius Founder". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  10. ^ "Bystander Revolution". Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  11. ^ Gren, Christy (May 29, 2019). "MacKenzie Bezos Signs The Giving Pledge and Pledges to give Half Her Fortune". Industry Leaders Magazine. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  12. ^ "MacKenzie Scott Gives Away $4.2 Billion in Four Months". Bloomberg News. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  13. ^ Vallely, Paul. "Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott: Please stop giving. You're making me look bad". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "MacKenzie Scott Is Giving Away Another $2.7 Billion To 286 Organizations". NPR. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Maruf, Ramishah (November 15, 2022). "MacKenzie Scott announces another $2 billion in donations". CNN Business. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  16. ^ a b c Beaty, Thalia (March 21, 2024). "MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million, more than doubling her planned gifts to nonprofit applicants". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d Kulish, Nicholas; Ruiz, Rebecca R. (April 10, 2022). "The Fortunes of MacKenzie Scott". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  18. ^ a b c Johnson, Rebecca (February 20, 2013). "MacKenzie Bezos: Writer, Mother of Four, and High-profile Wife". Vogue. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bromwich, Jonah Engel; Alter, Alexandra (January 12, 2019). "Who Is MacKenzie Scott?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  20. ^ "Alumni Award: Previous Recipients". hotchkiss.org. The Hotchkiss School. 2004. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  21. ^ a b "Jeff Bezos' 4 Kids: Everything to Know". People.com. May 22, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  22. ^ "7 Things To Know About MacKenzie Scott, The Woman Who Donated $6 Billion In 2020". British Vogue. December 22, 2020. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  23. ^ Bayers, Chip (March 1999). "The Inner Bezos". Wired. Vol. 7, no. 3. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  24. ^ Snider, Mike (January 9, 2019). "Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie to divorce after 25 years of marriage". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  25. ^ "Jeff Bezos Fast Facts". CNN. 2019. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  26. ^ Schleifer, Theodore (April 4, 2019). "MacKenzie Bezos, with $35 billion, is now the world's third-wealthiest woman". Recode. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  27. ^ "MacKenzie Scott". Forbes. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  28. ^ Kulish, Nicholas (December 16, 2020). "MacKenzie Scott Announces $4.2 Billion More in Charitable Giving". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  29. ^ Goodwin, Jazmin (September 3, 2020). "MacKenzie Scott has become the world's richest woman". CNN. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  30. ^ DeSantis, Rachel (October 3, 2022). "Who Is MacKenzie Scott's Husband? All About Dan Jewett". People. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  31. ^ Mattioli, Dana (March 7, 2021). "Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, Ex-Wife of Jeff Bezos, Marries Seattle School Teacher". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  32. ^ McLean, Rob (March 8, 2021). "Billionaire MacKenzie Scott remarries, tying the knot with a Seattle schoolteacher". CNN. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  33. ^ Kulish, Nicholas; Ruiz, Rebecca R.; Weise, Karen (September 28, 2022). "MacKenzie Scott, Billionaire Philanthropist, Files for Divorce". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  34. ^ "MacKenzie Scott Officially Divorced From Seattle Teacher Dan Jewett 4 Months After Billionaire Filed". www.people.com. People. January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  35. ^ Lindsay, Drew (December 18, 2024). "MacKenzie Scott Reports $2 Billion in Gifts, Signals Changes in Her Philanthropy". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved March 22, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  36. ^ Schleifer, Theodore (May 28, 2019). "MacKenzie Bezos signed the philanthropic commitment her ex-husband spurned". Vox. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  37. ^ a b "Yield Giving's website". Yield Giving. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  38. ^ a b Voytko-Best, Lisette (July 7, 2021). "Inside MacKenzie Scott's 'No Strings Attached' Philanthropy: 'I Was In Tears'". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  39. ^ Jr, Tom Huddleston (December 13, 2025). "MacKenzie Scott announced another $7.1 billion in 2025 charitable donations—she's now given away $26.3 billion since 2019". CNBC. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
  40. ^ Scott, MacKenzie (July 28, 2020). "116 Organizations Driving Change". Medium. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  41. ^ Iyengar, Rishi (July 28, 2020). "MacKenzie Scott, formerly Bezos, says she has given away $1.7 billion of her wealth so far". CNN Business. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  42. ^ Kulish, Nicholas (December 16, 2020). "MacKenzie Scott Announces $4.2 Billion More in Charitable Giving". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  43. ^ Helmore, Edward (June 15, 2021). "Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gives away $2.7bn to hundreds of charities". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022.
  44. ^ Sandler, Rachel (February 12, 2021). "Here's Who MacKenzie Scott Donated To So Far In February". Forbes. Retrieved March 1, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  45. ^ "Habitat for Humanity International and 84 U.S. Habitat affiliates receive transformational $436M gift from MacKenzie Scott". Habitat for Humanity. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  46. ^ Franklin, Jonathan (March 23, 2022). "MacKenzie Scott makes a record $275 million donation to Planned Parenthood". NPR. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  47. ^ Scott, MacKenzie (March 23, 2022). "Helping Any of Us Can Help Us All". Medium. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  48. ^ "Big Brothers Big Sisters on Path to Transform Mentorship in America with $122.6 Million Donation from MacKenzie Scott" (Press release). Big Brothers, Big Sisters. May 24, 2022. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  49. ^ Gamboa, Glenn (March 21, 2023). "MacKenzie Scott sets new 'open call' to donate $250 million". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  50. ^ a b Maruf, Ramishah (March 19, 2024). "MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million after open call for nonprofits". CNN Business. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  51. ^ Halpert, Madeline (March 21, 2024). "MacKenzie Scott donates $640m to US non-profits". BBC News. Retrieved March 21, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  52. ^ Gavin, William (March 20, 2024). "Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott doubles her charitable donations after Elon Musk's criticism". Quartz. Retrieved March 21, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  53. ^ a b Burack, Emily (April 11, 2022). "In 3 Years, MacKenzie Scott Has Donated $12 Billion". Town & Country. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  54. ^ "MacKenzie Scott reveals details of her $14bn in donations to 1,600 non-profits". The Guardian. December 15, 2022. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
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