MacKenzie Scott got a hefty settlement when she split from ex-husband Jeff Bezos last year — and now, those assets have helped her become the wealthiest woman in the world.
Scott is a philanthropist and the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man. Her new status comes as she surpassed Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, an heiress to L’Oreal who controls 33% of the world’s largest cosmetics maker and counts a net worth of $66.8 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Bezos and Scott divorced in 2019, and as a result, Scott gained millions of shares of Amazon worth an estimated $38 billion.
In a July blog post, Scott said she donated $1.7 billion of her wealth in the past year to several different causes including racial equality, LGBTQ rights, public health, and climate change.
Business Insider previously reported that by the end of that same week, Scott had earned that money back after the value of her Amazon stake grew.
In 2019, Scott also signed onto the Giving Pledge initiative, which encourages the richest people in the world to donate a majority of their wealth to charity.
Scott is the richest woman on Bloomberg’s list and the 12th wealthiest person, behind well-known tech moguls including Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Tesla’s Elon Musk, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
The 16 richest Americans in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes Billionaires List are collectively worth more than $1 trillion, Business Insider previously reported. While tech heavyweights populate the top ranks of the lists, they appear alongside other familiar figures like members of the powerful Koch and Walton families.
