An author and philanthropist. The third-wealthiest woman in the United States.
MacKenzie Scott Tuttle was born in San Francisco, California. Growing up, she loved to read and write stories, and at the age of 6, she wrote a 142-page book titled The Book Worm. After graduating high school, Scott attended Princeton University, studying English under Nobel prize Laureate Toni Morrison, later working as her research assistant.
In 1992, at the age of 22, she worked at the hedge fund company D.E Shaw in NYC, where she met Jeff Bezos. The couple married in 1993, and the following year, they moved to Seattle, where her husband started the online marketing website Amazon.com with Scott by his side. She was one of Amazon’s first employees, working on its business plan, accounts, orders, and negotiating its first shipping contract. When the success took off, Scott became less involved in the business and focused on her children and literary career.
In 2005, at 35, she published her first novel, The Testing of Luther Albright. Los Angeles Times named it the book of the year, and she received the American Book Award. In 2013, she published her second novel, Traps. Later that year, she founded the anti-bullying organization Bystander Revolution, where she serves as executive director.
In 2019, at the age of 49, Scott and her husband separated. As part of the divorce deal, she received 25% of Amazon stock, worth $35.6 billion, and became the third richest woman in the United States. In that same year, she signed a Giving Pledge, in which she promised to donate at least half of her wealth over her lifetime. In 2020, Scott gave $5.8 billion to 500 non-profit organizations that promote causes close to her heart, including LGBTQ+ equality, racial equality, climate change, and Covid-19 relief. In 2021, she gave $2.7 billion to more than 280 organizations.
In her action, Scott is changing the world of philanthropy, not only by the sum of money she is donating and the frequency she is giving it but also by her no-strings-attached philosophy. This system enables the organizations to use the funds according to their needs, with no restrictions, and by supporting hundreds of different causes and organizations, not a handful of steady ones. Read more...
