MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America’s $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
MacKenzie Scott donated $7 billion in 2025, bringing her five-year total to $26.2 billion, even as she stays out of the spotlight.
In 2025, MacKenzie Scott alone contributed one-third, or $7 billion, of the $19.2 billion in megagifts made by U.S. donors, according to data sourced from Fortune by Giving USA and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, had an exceptional philanthropic year that year, donating a total of $26.2 billion across five years, with her contributions benefiting thousands of organizations focused on housing, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, disaster recovery, and various other causes.
Other significant donors in 2025 included Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Susan and Michael Dell. Collectively, U.S. philanthropy totaled $617.2 billion in 2025, marking a 5.7% increase from the previous year. Despite her substantial generosity, Scott remained relatively unacknowledged in the Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of top 50 donors that year, a fact attributed to her preference for a low-key approach to giving.
Scott's philanthropy was primarily driven by past acts of kindness and her desire to impact the world positively, rather than for recognition. Her net worth, currently valued at nearly $37 billion, is still sizable due to Amazon shares received during her divorce from Bezos.
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