- MacKenzie Scott is revered as one of the most prominent philanthropic figures, and there were key life events that impacted her finances and philosophy. From her family’s financial troubles to her divorce from Bezos in 2019, Scott has settled into a lifestyle of billion-dollar charitable giving.
There are few billionaires who are so dedicated to shedding their wealth that they’ve signed a pledge with Warren Buffett to do so. MacKenzie Scott, Amazon’s renaissance woman and philanthropic mogul, is determined to put her $34.3 billion into the right places.
But there were a few pivotal life experiences that set her on the path to amass a fortune, and have the sensibility to give it to those in need. Scott’s family had a financial run-in during her youth, which shaped her initial experiences with money. Once she met and married Jeff Bezos, upending their life to launch Amazon in Seattle, her bank account would never look the same again. That is, until the couple parted ways and Scott journeyed to cut her wealth in half.
Scott’s life moments that propelled her into philanthropy
Family money troubles
Scott may be currently sitting on an eye-watering nest egg, but she was confronted with harsh business lessons early on in her life. She grew up in San Francisco with a financial advisor and philanthropist as parents, padded with a privileged New England boarding-school upbringing. But that would all change when the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) came knocking at her family’s door. The agency was investigating her father.
Jason Baker Tuttle, Scott’s father, would eventually declare bankruptcy over his firm’s “lavish spending,” which left them unable to refund clients. A court later barred Tuttle from working in the securities industry, which put a damper on the family finances. To make her way through Princeton she took on low-wage side jobs and leaned on financial aid. The chaos of her father’s finances likely informed the ways she would use her own money in adulthood.
Marriage to Jeff Bezos
After graduating from Princeton with a degree in English, she began work as an administrative assistant at technology investment firm D.E. Shaw. In that role, she interviewed a young, up-and-coming executive: Jeff Bezos. Scott recalled being taken by his laugh, and six months after inviting him out to lunch, the couple was hitched.
Both Scott and Bezos decided to scrap their nine-to-fives in finance, hurling their life into a car to head out West on their entrepreneurial expedition. Little did either of them know that this whirlwind romance—and merging of great business minds—would lead to a $1.5 trillion brainchild.
Road trip to Seattle
While it may have been hard to leave the high-powered, cushy world of finance in New York City, their decision to head to Washington state could be a huge factor in their success. Bezos had a specific idea in mind that would lend itself well to the techy world of Seattle: an online bookstore.
Scott played a big role in the early days of Amazon; she was described as a “wonderful” person to be around, with many founding employees having admired her contributions. She straddled roles as an accountant and administrator, but wasn’t only pitching in at corporate. An early editorial hire at the now-retail giant recalled that Scott would also help package books, videos, and CDs in the warehouse when the holiday rush came in.
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Scott and Bezos’ choice to move to Washington—where massive corporations like Microsoft, Starbucks, and Alaska Airlines are headquartered—proved to have paid off. They didn’t need the historical prestige of New York and Silicon Valley. Amazon and Microsoft ushered in a new era of business to the state, hailing Seattle as a tech mecca.
Divorce from Bezos
Scott’s business pursuits with Amazon were playing out well—but her marriage was falling apart. After 26 years and four kids, Bezos announced their separation in 2019 shortly before the National Enquirer exposed that he was having an affair with Lauren Sanchez.
Their divorce was settled by April of that year. In the end, Scott walked away with a mere 4% stake in Amazon, after helping raise the company since its infancy. It may be a small percentage of the business, but the share values packed a punch—totaling about $38 billion, at the time. Scott emerged from her separation to Bezos incredibly wealthy, but she wasn’t keen on keeping it all to herself.
Signing the Giving Pledge
With more money than most can fathom, Scott began to dedicate her time and fortune to philanthropy. The most significant move she made was signing Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge—in which signers promise to give away at least half of their wealth.
At age 51, Scott currently boasts a net worth of $34.5 billion. Just two years ago, she held about $52 billion. Her primary philanthropic vehicle, Yield Giving, shows donations have totaled $19.25 billion across 2,450 charitable organizations.
Scott has continued to be extremely transparent about where she donates her money. Her wealth has gone to racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ equality non-profits, as well as organizations focused on improving economic mobility, public health, and functional democracy.
