MacKenzie Scott Has Donated $4.2 Billion to Charities in the Past Four Months Alone

When Amazon founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, and MacKenzie Scott finalized their divorce in 2019, the settlement effectively made her one of the richest women in the world. It wasn't long afterward that the novelist committed to donating most of this wealth over the course of her lifetime — and she has definitely stayed true to her promise so far.

But how much money has MacKenzie Scott donated, exactly? Let's take a look at the numbers.

MacKenzie ended up getting $35.6 billion in Amazon stocks from her divorce settlement, making her the third-richest woman in the world at the time. By May 2019, however, she had pledged to donate half her wealth to charities as part of the Giving Pledge, which was started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

Jeff Bezos, for the record, is the only one of the five richest people in the U.S. who has not signed the Giving Pledge.

On Dec. 15, MacKenzie published a blog post on Medium announcing that she has given away nearly $4.2 billion in the past four months alone.

"This pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling," the philanthropist wrote. "Economic losses and health outcomes alike have been worse for women, for people of color, and for people living in poverty. Meanwhile, it has substantially increased the wealth of billionaires."

MacKenzie's wealth is currently estimated at $60 billion, which includes an increase of nearly $24 billion since the beginning of 2020, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The donations she's made over the past four months alone have gone to 384 organizations across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. 

"Some are filling basic needs: food banks, emergency relief funds, and support services for those most vulnerable," she explained. "Others are addressing long-term systemic inequities that have been deepened by the crisis: debt relief, employment training, credit and financial services for under-resourced communities, education for historically marginalized and underserved people, civil rights advocacy groups, and legal defense funds that take on institutional discrimination."

In July 2020, MacKenzie announced she had donated $1.7 billion to 114 organizations over the span of a year.

"Last year I pledged to give the majority of my wealth back to the society that helped generate it, to do it thoughtfully, to get started soon, and to keep at it until the safe is empty," she wrote on July 28.

She continued, "There’s no question in my mind that anyone’s personal wealth is the product of a collective effort, and of social structures which present opportunities to some people, and obstacles to countless others." (Preach, girl!)

That means between these two massive waves of giving, MacKenzie Scott has donated close to $5.9 billion since splitting with Jeff Bezos and receiving her massive divorce settlement. And the best part? She's not done yet.