{
  "id": 2999165,
  "title": "A $1,000 loan kept MacKenzie Scott in college—now the billionaire philanthropist is giving away her $37 billion fortune to repay it forward",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/a-1-000-loan-kept-mackenzie-scott-in-college-now-the-billionaire",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-24T09:47:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/article/billionaire-philanthropist-mackenzie-scott-roommate-loaned-her-1000-to-not-drop-out-of-college-inspired-26-billion-philanthropy/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "MacKenzie Scott, a prominent philanthropist, has amassed a fortune of around $37 billion since divorcing Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos in 2019. This wealth stems from her 4% stake in Amazon, valued at approximately 139 million shares. Over the years, she has gradually reduced her stake by selling or donating about 58 million shares. Despite her significant philanthropic efforts, including donating $26 billion through her platform Yield Giving, Scott remains financially secure. She acknowledges the importance of supporting others, especially during formative years. Scott's own college experience included borrowing $1,000 from her roommate, which motivated her to donate large sums to education-focused organizations. Her roommate, Jeannie Ringo Tarkenton, established Funding U, a company providing low-interest loans to low-income students. Tarkenton attributes her own success to Scott's initial $1,000 loan, which she believes helped prevent her from dropping out of Princeton University.",
  "summary": "MacKenzie Scott has donated $26 billion in the past several years.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}