Jeff Bezos Ex-Wife Gives Staggering $19 Billion To Charity

With an estimated net worth in the area of $200 billion, Jeff Bezos is one of the richest human beings on the planet. He could well be the richest human being on the planet if not for a 2019 divorce from ex-wife MacKenzie Scott that saw Scott walk away with a settlement worth an estimated $36 billion. Scott, however, keeps a far lower profile than her ex-husband and has since donated an absolutely jaw-dropping amount of money to charity in the last five years.

Scott, who is now one of the world’s richest women in her own right, has given away more than half of that wealth. The 54-year-old has reportedly given away more than $19 billion to more than 2,000 organizations according to a three-year study published by the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

“It could take decades to truly understand the effects these gifts have had on nonprofits and the sector at large,” the report reads. “However, after five years of giving, the reported effects of her gifts on recipient organizations … remain overwhelmingly positive.”

Mackenzie Scott’s Immense Charitable Contributions Are Part Of A Larger Plan

In 2019, Scott partnered with The Giving Pledge to start a mission toward an unprecedented level of philanthropy. She wrote about having a “disproportionate” amount of wealth to give and why it was important for her to do so.

“I have no doubt that tremendous value comes when people act quickly on the impulse to give. No drive has more positive ripple effects than the desire to be of service. There are lots of resources each of us can pull from our safes to share with others — time, attention, knowledge, patience, creativity, talent, effort, humor, compassion,” Scott wrote. “And sure enough, something greater rises up every time we give: the easy breathing of a friend we sit with when we had other plans, the relief on our child’s face when we share the story of our own mistake, laughter at the well-timed joke we tell to someone who is crying, the excitement of the kids in the school we send books to, the safety of the families who sleep in the shelters we fund. These immediate results are only the beginning. Their value keeps multiplying and spreading in ways we may never know.”

Scott isn’t hurting for money. Forbes lists her net worth at a staggering $25.3 billion. That makes her the 72nd wealthiest human being on the planet. But while she will likely never rid that wealth entirely, it’s hard to be anything but impressed by her attempts.