MacKenzie Scott sold 65 million Amazon shares for an astronomical amount of money

  • MacKenzie Scott is a philanthropist, author and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
  • As part of their 2019 divorce, she received a four percent stake in the online retailer
  • Bloomberg News reported on Friday that Scott sold 65.3 million shares in the e-commerce giant last year

Published on Jan 30, 2024 at 5:19 PM (UTC+4)
by Adam Gray

Last updated on Jan 30, 2024 at 9:39 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Alessandro Renesis

MacKenzie Scott is a philanthropist and author – but she’s also the ex-wife of Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.

After 25 years of marriage, the pair divorced in 2019, and Scott walked away with a four percent stake in the online retailer.

The stake, worth $36 billion at the time, made Scott one of the richest women in the world.

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In May 2019, shortly after she announced the terms of the divorce on Twitter (now X), MacKenzie Scott signed the Giving Pledge, promising to give away at least half of her wealth over the course of her lifetime.

And it appears Scott has stayed true to her word, as she sold 65.3 million shares in Amazon last year, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

The share sale forms around 25 percent of the philanthropist’s stake in the e-Commerce and would be worth $10.4 billion at Amazon’s Friday closing price, the report said, citing a regulatory filing.

She now owns around 1.9 percent of Amazon and still boasts a new worth of $42.6 billion according to Forbes, despite having nearly sold half of her shares.

Since her high-profile split, Scott has donated more than $16.5 billion to a wide range of charities.

Scott is giving generously to hundreds of organizations and maintaining complete transparency through her Yield Giving website.

In the past year alone, more than 360 organizations have received a total of $2.15 billion.

Scott employs a “no strings attached” style of giving, wherein the nonprofits to which she donates have full control over how to best deploy the new funds.

“In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I have a disproportionate amount of money to share,” she wrote in a letter on the Giving Pledge website.

“My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time, effort, and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.” 

Jeff Bezos on the other hand – well he continues to spend big.

Number two on the Forbes 400 (2023) list, Bezos owns an extensive property portfolio, as well as a host of lavish luxuries.

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Adam Gray is an experienced freelance motoring journalist and content creator based in the United Kingdom. Using his media accreditation with manufacturers’ press offices, Adam test drives the latest cars and attends new vehicle press launches, producing written reviews and news pieces for a variety of lifestyle and business publications. Here at Supercar Blondie, Adam applies his journalistic skills penning social-first content around current news and trends. When he’s not behind the wheel of the latest car or writing up another viral story, Adam can be found at his local rink playing ice hockey or at the Riverside Stadium supporting his beloved Middlesbrough FC.