MacKenzie Scott gave away more money last year than several of the most high-profile U.S. billionaires are estimated to have donated over their entire lifetimes — combined.
In 2025, Scott, 55, donated an estimated $7.2 billion to 186 organizations, according to Forbes. The publication reported that this is the largest amount donated in a single year since it began tracking top donors in 2012.
Forbes also estimated that Scott’s 2025 giving exceeded the combined lifetime donations of four prominent billionaires: Elon Musk ($500 million), Larry Page ($100 million), Larry Ellison ($1 billion), and Jeff Bezos ($4.7 billion).
Scott ranks third on Forbes’ list of the 25 most generous givers in America, behind Warren Buffett and Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates (tied for second). Her estimated lifetime giving stands at $26.4 billion, while her current net worth is estimated at $30.9 billion.
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Scott and Bezos divorced in 2019. As part of the settlement, she received an estimated $36 billion and a 4% stake in Amazon. Forbes reports that she has since donated 75% of the Amazon shares she received.
Scott has repeatedly drawn attention for major gifts, including at least $760 million to 18 historically Black colleges and universities over three months in late 2025. In 2020, she donated $560 million to 23 HBCUs across the country. Other reported donations include $45 million to The Trevor Project, $48 million to schools in Chicago, and $10 million to Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE).
A three-year study published by the Center for Effective Philanthropy in February found that Scott has donated more than $19 billion to over 2,000 organizations in the six years since the divorce. The report noted that while it may take years to fully measure the broader impact, recipient organizations have described the effects of her gifts as overwhelmingly positive.
Scott joined the Giving Pledge in May 2019, months after her divorce, committing to give away at least half her wealth and to continue approaching philanthropy thoughtfully. In a letter published on the initiative’s website, she wrote that acting quickly on the impulse to give can create lasting benefits, adding that few motivations have wider positive ripple effects than the desire to be of service.
