Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated over US$14 billion to 1,600 non-profits since 2019.
The information was provided on her newly launched website Yield Giving, where she explained she will introduce an “open-call process” going forward, where non-profits looking for donations can reach out.
The website includes a database of how much she has gifted and to which non-profits, along with a collection of essays from Scott where she explains how she makes decisions about her philanthropy.
Scott, who is the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has signed the Giving Pledge, committing to giving away more than half of her wealth. Her net worth is currently estimated at US$27 billion, according to Forbes.
“Information from other people – other givers, my team, the non-profit teams I’ve been giving to – has been enormously helpful to me. If more information about these gifts can be helpful to anyone, I want to share it,” Scott wrote in an essay detailing why she has launched the new website.
“In the end the result has been this: a large volume of data carefully loaded and sorted according to the preferences of non-profits, and some words by me about what we do and why.”
Last year, Scott was topped Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful women, where she was recognised for her commitment to giving away much of her wealth and challenging the status quo.
“There is no doubt that Scott is single-handedly upending the model of how billionaires give away fortunes while supporting causes that look to disrupt the status quo. At a time when billionaires like her ex-husband have been blasting off to space, Scott is using her massive fortune to not only support nonprofits doing good work, but also to challenge the way wealth and power is accumulated in this country,” Maggie McGrath, ForbesWomen editor wrote at the time.
During the pandemic, Scott has made headlines for her philanthropy supporting those most in need in the economic downturn.
“This pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling. Economic losses and health outcomes alike have been worse for women, for people of color, and for people living in poverty. Meanwhile, it has substantially increased the wealth of billionaires,” she wrote in 2020.
“I asked a team of advisors to help me accelerate my 2020 giving through immediate support to people suffering the economic effects of the crisis.”
Scott has previously teamed up with Melinda French Gates to donate to organisations pursuing gender equality as part of the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge.