Since her 2019 divorce from Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott has continued to attract attention for her groundbreaking approach to philanthropy.
In June 2026, Forbes even honored Scott on its Iconoclast 50 list, recognizing her as a leader who’s “changing the game in real time, disrupting their industries and challenging the status quo.”
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Forbes wrote of Scott, “A few generations back, being a major philanthropist meant setting up an organization that would exist in perpetuity (think the Ford Foundations) or establishing a university like Carnegie Mellon. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett sped things up with their Giving Pledge, asking billionaire signers to give away their money during their lifetimes. But it took MacKenzie Scott to put it on warp speed.”
“The ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has given away $26.4 billion in less than seven years,” they continued. “Last year she gave away an estimated $7.2 billion, the most by any individual worldwide since Forbes started keeping track in 2012. Scott (who is still worth $30.9 billion) has now given away more than 75% of the Amazon shares she received in her 2019 divorce.”
This comes after Scott was notably absent from the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the top 50 donors of the year. According to the Chronicle, she was excluded because the lack of publicity surrounding her donations often makes them difficult to track. “While it is possible she made gifts to her donor-advised funds that would have earned her a spot on the Philanthropy 50, she and her representatives declined to provide such information to the Chronicle.”
Still, Scott continues to be praised for her efforts—but the same can’t be said for her ex-husband. Bezos has become the subject of ongoing scrutiny, and now his new wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is reportedly working to help him revamp his public image—and in her view, that means engaging directly with people and becoming more approachable.
“Lauren genuinely believes people would love Jeff if they actually saw the real him,” a source told Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice. “She thinks he stayed silent for too long and allowed critics to define who he is.”
At this point, Sánchez Bezos is allegedly Bezos’ closest confidant. “She’s his wife, best friend, public coach, and biggest cheerleader all rolled into one,” the insider explained. “Jeff trusts her instincts completely.”
Sánchez Bezos even believes the Amazon founder needs to be more visible. “Lauren thinks silence makes Jeff look cold and detached,” another insider said. “She wants him out there talking, laughing, showing personality, and taking control of his own narrative instead of letting everyone else write it for him.”
However, some are skeptical of this approach, with a separate source telling Shuter, “Some advisers think Lauren approaches this more like celebrity branding than corporate reputation management. But Jeff listens to her more than almost anyone.”
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
