Topline
MacKenzie Scott continued her recent spree of philanthropy Thursday, with a $44 million donation to mentorship program Friends of the Children, after promising in 2019 to give away at least half of her fortune.
MacKenzie Scott arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Key Facts
Scott’s gift allows the organization to “continue expanding across the country to provide a Friend to thousands more youth,” said CEO Terri Sorensen.
Friends of the Children provides kids 12 and over, many of whom are in or at risk of entering the foster care system, with a professional mentor, and has 26 locations across the country.
The national FOTC organization received $15 million, and 12 chapters received donations totaling $29 million.
Scott’s donation is the largest single gift received in Friends of the Children’s 30-year history.
Forbes Valuation
$40.1 billion. That’s how much Scott is worth, Forbes estimates, earning the No. 30 spot on Forbes 2022 list of the world’s billionaires.
Key Background
Scott and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos split in 2019, and she received 25% of his stake in the company. So far, she’s given away over $12 billion dollars to hundreds of organizations, including $3.8 billion alone to nearly 500 groups between June 2021 and March of this year. Many of the donations given by Scott have been the largest single gift some organizations have ever received, like the $120 million she gave to Big Brothers Big Sisters in May. Her largest publicly disclosed donation is a $436 million gift to Habitat for Humanity in March. Other headline-grabbing donations of Scott’s this year have included $275 million to Planned Parenthood, $133.5 million to Communities In Schools, $50 million to the National 4-H Council and $281 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Big Number
1257. That’s how many organizations Scott said she has donated to since signing the Giving Pledge, as of March.
Further Reading
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott Giveaway Goes On: Donates Over $120 Million To Big Brothers Big Sisters (Forbes)
MacKenzie Scott Donated $3.8 Billion To 465 Non-Profits In Less Than A Year (Forbes)