Here's How MacKenzie Scott Went From Waitress To 4th Richest Woman In The World

Author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is one of the richest women in the world, with an estimated $45.4 billion net worth.

How did she become this rich? Here’s the answer to that and more about Scott.

In 1992, after graduating from Princeton University, Scott moved to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming a novelist. Struggling to live in the city, she once worked as a waitress to make ends meet.

“I found myself with unpredictable and small chunks of time during which I either collapsed from exhaustion and frustration, or ruminated over the excruciating monotony of making and selling sandwiches,” Scott once wrote in a letter to her mentor, the late novelist and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. “And worried about how I might pay my rent with the nickels they gave me in exchange for my ennui.”

She later accepted a job at hedge fund D.E. Shaw, so she could pay the bills — and ended up working next to Bezos. She married the latter in 1993, and a year after, they moved near Bellevue, Washington, to start what would become Amazon.

Before Amazon could deliver parcels to every home in the U.S., Scott worked on the start-up part-time while working on her novels.

Eventually, Scott was able to publish two books. Amazon’s market capitalization also grew to $1.5 trillion, making Bezos one of the richest in the world.

Scott became extremely wealthy in 2019 after divorcing Bezos, receiving 25% of her ex-husband's Amazon shares, equating to roughly 4% of the company.

Today, Scott is ranked 29th on the Forbes list of richest billionaires. She also stands as the fourth richest woman in the world.

The three women richer than her are Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, who has a net worth of $78.6 billion; Alice Walton, who has a net worth of $70.7 billion; and Julia Koch, who has a net worth of $62.9 billion.

Following her divorce from Bezos, Scott devoted her time to philanthropy and has committed to giving away the majority of her wealth.

Between June 2021 and March 2022, Scott donated nearly $4 billion to nonprofits, including Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Planned Parenthood and Habitat for Humanity International. In total, her company, Lost Horse, has donated at least $12 billion to more than 1,200 charitable groups, as per CNBC.

“I have no doubt that tremendous value comes when people act quickly on the impulse to give. No drive has more positive ripple effects than the desire to be of service,” Scott wrote in her Giving Pledge letter.

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