🌅 One of the Most Prolific American Philanthropists Ever

SOURCE

USA Today

WHAT TO KNOW

• Billionaire Mackenzie Scott has made 15 donations to historically Black colleges and universities this year, totalling more than $740 million. Many of the donations are the largest the respective schools have ever received, including eight universities that each received $50 million or more. Scott also donated $70 million to the United Negro College Fund this year.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Scott began her high-profile philanthropic career back in 2020, shortly after divorcing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Upon their divorce, Scott received a roughly 4% stake in Amazon that was worth around $36 billion at the time. She’s since donated an astounding $19.25 billion to more than 2,400 organizations through her foundation Yield Giving, making her one of the most prolific American philanthropists since the Gilded Age.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• Eschewing the traditional way billionaires donate by simply giving money to themselves via organizations they control, Yield Giving donates large sums of money without any restrictions, allowing nonprofits to use the money as they see fit. Scott, who graduated from Princeton University before becoming an award-winning novelist under the mentorship of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, has also signed the Giving Pledge, promising to donate the majority of her net worth during her lifetime or upon death.