MacKenzie Scott, 53, an author and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is currently ranked as the third richest woman in the United States by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated fortune of $30.4 billion. Their divorce in 2019 awarded her a four-percent stake in the online retailer, which accounts for the majority of her wealth.
In May 2019, Scott announced the terms of her divorce on Twitter and subsequently committed to the Giving Pledge, vowing to give away at least 50 percent of her wealth during her lifetime. Since 2020, she has already donated more than $15 billion to nearly 1,600 nonprofits. Scott follows a “no strings attached” approach to giving, allowing the recipient nonprofits full autonomy in deciding how to use the funds.
Notably, Scott has generously given $1.1 billion to 104 nonprofits based in various African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Angola, and Zambia.
Billionaires.Africa, through Yield Giving, a website where Scott shares details of her donations, has compiled some of the largest gifts made to African charities.
While some recipients chose not to disclose the value of the gifts publicly, the majority of the contributions are known.
Below are some of the disclosed, significant donations made to non-profits primarily operating in African countries:
Size of gift: $50 million
Amref Health Africa works to secure lasting health change in Africa through community-led people centered primary health systems while addressing equity and social determinants of health focusing on women and girls as agents of change.
Size of gift: $20 million
One Acre Fund serves smallholder farmers. They measure success in their ability to make more farmers more prosperous. They envision a future in which every farm family has the knowledge and means to achieve big harvests, support healthy families, and cultivate rich soil.
Sentinel (Broad Institute and African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Disease)
Size of gift: $15 million
The Sentinel project is an outbreak prevention framework that aims to detect viral threats in real-time and prepare the global community to stop diseases before they spread. Their approach is currently being implemented in West Africa and combines cutting-edge genomics, novel computational methods, and best-in-class training to create sustainable pandemic prevention.
Size of gift: $25 million
Living Goods saves lives at scale by supporting digitally empowered community health workers who deliver care on call-making it easy for families in need to get the care they need.
African Population and Health Research Center
Size of gift: $15 million
The scope of their work is in generating evidence, strengthening research and related capacity in the Africa R&D ecosystem, and engaging policy to inform action on health and development.
Size of gift: $15 million
Muso exists to cure delay in health care, because no one should die waiting for care.
Size of gift: $12 million
Educate!’s mission is to develop young leaders and entrepreneurs in Africa.
The END Fund – Deworming Innovation Fund
Size of gift: $10 million
The END Fund’s Deworming Innovation Fund aims to accelerate progress toward eliminating parasitic worms in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, which will improve the health, quality of life, and educational and economic prospects of more than 40 million people living in these four countries through 2025.
Size of gift: $10 million
The BOMA Project works to provide the people and the governments of the African drylands with adapted economic inclusion programs that increase resiliency to multiple crises.
Size of gift: $3.5 million
LEAP Africa, based in Nigeria, aims to inspire, empower, and equip a new cadre of African leaders by providing the skills and tools for personal, organizational and community transformation.
Size of gift: $7 million
Lwala Community Alliance works to build the capacity of rural communities to advance their own comprehensive well-being.
Size of gift: $4-million
The Other Foundation is a southern African LGBTI community foundation that advances and protects freedom, equality, and social and economic inclusion of homosexual and bisexual women and men, and transgender and intersex people. It does this through fundraising, grantmaking, and movement building including research and convenings.
GiveDirectly – Africa Response
Size of gift: $5 million
GiveDirectly aims to reduce poverty by providing financial assistance directly to those in need.
Sanku – Project Healthy Children
Size of gift: $8 million
Sanku aims to end hidden hunger by guaranteeing that every meal consumed by every mother and child contains lifesaving nutrients, forever.
Size of gift: $20 million
Tostan’s mission is to empower communities to develop and achieve their vision for the future and inspire large-scale movements leading to dignity for all.
Size of gift: $25 million
CAMFED catalyzes the power of the most vulnerable girls and young women to create the future they imagine: for themselves, for their communities, and for Africa.
Size of gift: $10 million
Firelight is a multi-donor public charity fund that raises money from foundations, individuals and institutions to support community-based organizations (CBOs) that are working with their communities to drive systems change for children and youth in eastern and southern Africa.
West Africa Civil Society Institute
Size of gift: $4 million
This organizaton works to strengthen civil society in West Africa, primarily, to be responsive, collaborative, representative, resilient and influential through knowledge sharing, learning, connecting and influencing.
Size of gift: $8 million
MacKenzie Scott has donated $8 million to Maliasili, which works to accelerate community-based conservation through local organizations.
Socioeconomic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI)
Size of gift: $3 million
SERI works to end inequality and poverty through the enforcement of the vision articulated in the South African constitution by supporting the agency of marginalized people. We develop and implement strategies that advance the realization of socioeconomic rights, challenge inequality, contribute to public accountability and participatory democracy.
