Amazon stock gains cushion MacKenzie Scott’s billions in giving
Scott has donated more than $26 billion, but gains in her remaining Amazon stake have kept her fortune near its 2019 level.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
MacKenzie Scott has given away more than $26 billion in recent years while retaining a fortune estimated at about $35 billion. The reason, according to Fortune and market data cited in its reporting, is that the Amazon shares she kept after her divorce from Jeff Bezos have continued to rise in value.
Scott received roughly 4% of Amazon in the 2019 divorce, a stake then valued at about $36 billion, Fortune reported. Since then, she has sent billions to thousands of organizations through Yield Giving, her philanthropic platform, including $7.2 billion in 2025, when Fortune described her as the year’s biggest megadonor.
Amazon shares have offset much of the giving
Scott’s wealth is concentrated in Amazon stock, rather than spread evenly across cash, bonds and other assets. WealthAdvisor described the case as an example of “concentrated equity wealth,” in which gains from a large holding in one company can offset even very large withdrawals or donations.
Fortune reported that Scott has reduced her original Amazon position by about 42%, selling or donating about 58 million shares worth roughly $12.6 billion. Even after those reductions, the remaining shares have benefited from Amazon’s market performance.
Amazon’s share price has risen more than 42% over the past five years, Fortune reported. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed that even after more than $7 billion in giving in 2025, Scott’s net worth was down by about $4.5 billion for the year.
WealthAdvisor said the case shows how equity compounding can alter expectations about how long a fortune lasts and how much giving it can support. For billionaires whose wealth is tied to a stock that keeps gaining value, charitable giving and wealth preservation can happen at the same time.
Scott’s giving stands apart from Bezos’s
The pattern is not limited to Scott. Forbes estimates Michael Bloomberg’s net worth at about $110 billion, while he has donated more than $25 billion, according to the figures cited by Fortune.
Scott’s giving also contrasts sharply with Bezos’s. Bloomberg lists the Amazon founder’s fortune at nearly $270 billion, while Forbes has put his lifetime giving at about $4.7 billion, or around 1.7% of his net worth.
Fortune reported that Scott has given away about 40% of her fortune since the divorce. That total is roughly five times Bezos’s lifetime giving figure cited by Forbes, despite Bezos having a far larger fortune.
A different model of philanthropy
Scott has signed the Giving Pledge, which asks billionaires to commit to giving away most of their wealth. Fortune reported that she has said she intends to keep giving “until the safe is empty.”
Her approach differs from older models of billionaire philanthropy, which often centered on large bequests or institutions designed to continue after a donor’s death. Fortune pointed to Andrew Carnegie’s libraries and Henry Ford’s foundation as examples of that earlier style.
Scott has instead used Yield Giving to move large sums while she is alive, without building a large traditional foundation around her name. As long as Amazon’s stock keeps rising, however, the market may continue to replace part of what she gives away.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.