MacKenzie Scott was an early Amazon employee and partner in its formative years, later received a large Amazon stake in her divorce from Jeff Bezos and built a distinctive large-scale giving program. [1][2][3]
Amazon, writing and philanthropy
Scott studied English at Princeton, where Toni Morrison was among her teachers, and joined the hedge fund D.E. Shaw after graduation. She met Jeff Bezos there, married him in 1993 and moved with him to Seattle as Amazon was being created. [1][2]
Forbes has documented Scott as an active participant in Amazon's earliest years, handling a wide range of work while the company was still small. She later returned much of her attention to writing and published two novels, while Amazon grew into the source of the couple's dominant wealth. [2][1]
When Scott and Bezos divorced in 2019, she received a 4% Amazon stake. She subsequently committed to giving away much of her fortune and developed a philanthropy model centered on large unrestricted gifts, with Yield Giving publishing the organizations and amounts supported over time. [1][3]
That transfer makes the source of Scott's billionaire wealth distinct from the later uses of it: the core asset came from Amazon ownership received in the divorce, while Yield Giving documents the subsequent redeployment of that capital. Grant totals therefore reduce or reallocate her personal holdings rather than representing a separate operating business that created the fortune. [1][3]
Sources for background
Sources reviewed Sep 15, 2026.
- MacKenzie Scott · Forbes · Mar 10, 2026
- How MacKenzie Scott Gave Away Nearly $6 Billion Last Year And Ended Up Richer · Forbes · Apr 6, 2021
- No Dollar Signs This Time · Yield Giving · Dec 8, 2021
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