MacKenzie Scott was responsible for $7 billion in donations last year, roughly one-third of the total megagifts given in the US

Other top megadonors included Michael Bloomberg (who gave away $4.3 billion), Bill Gates ($3.7 billion), Warren Buffett ($1.34 billion) and Susan and Michael Dell (nearly $1 billion).

Scott received roughly $36 billion in Amazon stock following her 2019 divorce from Jeff Bezos. She has reduced that initial amount by about 42% through sales and her philanthropic donations.

But she’s worth more today than she was when she signed her divorce papers.

Stock surges boost net worth

Right now, Scott’s net worth is estimated at $37.2 billion by Bloomberg. That’s lower than it was earlier in the year, but still higher than the post-divorce rate. Credit some of that to the rocket ride of Amazon’s stock. Shares of the company have nearly tripled in value since the couple split.

Put another way, Scott’s wealth is increasing at a faster rate than she can give it away. Since beginning her philanthropic donations, Scott has given away an average of $5 billion per year.

Bezos, meanwhile, has given away less than $5 billion total. Earlier this year, he defended this small amount (compared to his fortune), saying society benefits significantly more from the companies he has created.

“If I do my job right, the value to society and civilization from my for-profit companies will be much, much larger than the good that I do with my charitable giving,” Bezos said.

A different sort of philanthropy

Scott’s giving, through the Yield Giving platform she founded in 2022, is a bit different from some megadonors. It follows a principle called trust-based philanthropy, meaning the nonprofit recipients can use the money however they’d like, minimizing the reporting requirement some donors require.

While Scott has not reported any donations for 2026 yet, she gave some major gifts last year. Among those were an $80 million gift to Howard University, $70 million to the United Negro College Fund, $60 million to the Centre for Disaster Philanthropy, $50 million to Virginia State University, $42 million to Alcorn State University and $40 million to the African American Cultural Heritage Action fund.