The wealthy author MacKenzie Scott announced on Tuesday that she had contributed $7.1 billion to charitable organizations, increasing her total contributions since 2019 to $26.3 billion.
TL;DR
- MacKenzie Scott donated $7.1 billion to charities, bringing her total to $26.3 billion since 2019.
- This year's focus is on higher education institutions and environmental initiatives, including climate organizations.
- Scott provides unrestricted grants, allowing organizations flexibility in fund allocation and timing.
- Her philanthropic efforts are largely concentrated in the United States, with a focus on community-rooted institutions.
In 2019, following her separation from Amazon creator Jeff Bezos, Scott initially committed to relinquishing most of her fortune. Since then, she has allocated large, unrestricted gifts to charitable organizations, foregoing requests for formal applications or updates on their achievements. Her philanthropic efforts have primarily concentrated within the United States, although not solely confined to it.
Scott lacks a publicly accessible foundation, making it challenging to independently monitor her charitable contributions. However, she has disclosed her donations through sporadic blog entries and articles published on her website, Yield Giving,, which now features a compilation of her awarded grants.
Her yearly charitable contributions have varied, with figures reported between $2.1 billion in 2023 and $7.1 billion in 2025. This current year, Scott's donations are concentrated on backing institutions of higher learning and environmental initiatives.
A new emphasis on climate organizations
The publication of the 2025 recipients on Tuesday revealed several substantial contributions to environmental organizations, with the most considerable sum, $90 million, allocated to the joint initiative Forests, People, Climate, dedicated to halting deforestation in tropical regions.
The nonprofit Panorama Global has analyzed Scott’s giving over the years and found that historically, giving to the environment has represented a small part of her overall donations. In 2024, only 9.4% of Scott’s gifts went to environmental groups, though on average the amount of those gifts was larger than to other areas, according to their research.
“What we’re now seeing is different years have different focus areas,” said Gabrielle Fitzgerald, founder and CEO of The Panorama Group. “So last year, there was a really big economic security focus. This year, I really see education and climate.”
The Global Methane Hub, an organization that disburses approximately $100 million annually to initiatives aimed at cutting methane output, has accepted its second contribution from Scott, amounting to $60 million on this occasion. Executive Director Marcelo Mena characterized the adaptable and substantial financial support as “magical”, noting its opportune arrival given the Trump administration's weakening of unified governmental efforts concerning climate change.
“This is when the philanthropic funding is actually absolutely key,” said Mena. “Because it’s the bridge that we need because we can’t discontinue this fight to reduce emissions and keep the climate safe for everyone.”
Scott’s assets have grown even as she’s given away a fortune
Forbes reported that Scott's wealth was assessed at approximately $36 billion when she began outlining her philanthropic activities in 2020. While this figure has varied throughout the years, Forbes now places her net worth at $33 billion, despite her having donated over $26 billion.
Initially, Scott advised recipients not to anticipate or prepare for a subsequent donation, but as time passed, she provided further contributions to a portion of the same entities, frequently exceeding the amount of her initial award.
“She clearly is getting comfortable with reinvesting in partners that she thinks are doing good work,” said Fitzgerald.
According to Scott’s website, at least one entity, CAMFED, dedicated to advancing girls' schooling in African nations, has been the recipient of four contributions from Scott, with the most substantial one, amounting to $60 million, being made in 2025.
Many generous gifts to minority colleges and universities
Beyond the $783 million Scott allocated to historically Black colleges and universities in 2025, her online presence outlines numerous contributions to tribal colleges, community colleges, and scholarship initiatives.
Although Scott has contributed to higher education institutions starting in 2020, these contributions have typically represented a lesser share of her educational financial backing. In a 2024 analysis, Panorama Global discovered that approximately 30% of the educational organizations receiving funds from Scott were concentrating on youth development initiatives.
Marybeth Gasman, a Rutgers University professor and specialist in HBCUs, observed that a key differentiator for many HBCUs benefiting from Scott's financial support is stable, enduring leadership, according to Gasman, “She’s very interested in institutions that are rooted in community.”
The value of unrestricted grants
Scott provides her donations without any stipulations, enabling recipients to determine the allocation and timing of the funds. Such unrestricted financial backing is uncommon from significant contributors and charitable organizations, as many opt to back particular initiatives within defined periods.
However, research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy in 2023 determined that worries regarding nonprofits improperly utilizing Scott’s contributions or expanding excessively haven't generally materialized. This might partly stem from Scott’s staff thoroughly investigating and approving organizations prior to disbursing funds.
Flexible donations enable charitable organizations to navigate challenges, experiment with novel methods or tools, or fund the foundational elements supporting their operations. For instance, following the Trump administration cut funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the charitable group Village Enterprise, which manages initiatives aimed at poverty reduction, used a grant it received from Scott in 2023 to sustain vital services.
Scott grants organizations the discretion to determine whether to make public the sums they've been awarded, with over one-third of those receiving funds in 2025 opting not to reveal the grant figures within Scott’s grant repository. Fitzgerald stated that overall, she believes Scott endeavors to avoid making her charitable contributions self-centered.
“In her essays, she’s always talking about other stakeholders and other people’s contributions,” Fitzgerald said. “So it’s very different than many other philanthropists who are often the center of the story of their gift.”
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