MacKenzie Scott has spent the past several years rapidly giving away her $35 billion fortune. But due to the power of Amazon shares she received upon her 2019 divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the market keeps handing that wealth back to her.
Scott received roughly a 4% stake in the company (then worth about $36 billion) when they divorced, but has since donated more than $26 billion to thousands of organizations through her philanthropic platform, Yield Giving. She even was the biggest megadonor of 2025, having donated a whopping $7.2 billion in 2025 alone.
Having given away that much money, how does Scott have essentially the same amount she started with in 2019? It’s essentially market math and what wealth advisors call “concentrated equity wealth.”
Why giving billions away hasn’t made MacKenzie Scott poorer
This situation isn’t unique to Scott, and happens to other billionaire philanthropists. Another example would be someone like Michael Bloomberg, who is worth an estimated $110 billion, but has donated more than $25 billion.
