Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott reduces stake in Amazon by $12.6 billion

The latest disclosure, dated Sep 30, shows she holds 81.1 million shares, down 58 million from a year earlier

By Tom Maloney

 

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott reduced her stake in Amazon.com Inc. by 42 per cent over the past year, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. 

 

The latest disclosure, dated Sept. 30, shows she holds 81.1 million shares, down 58 million from a year earlier. At Tuesday’s closing price, that reduction would be worth $12.6 billion. 

 

Scott, 55, is known to give large grants to small nonprofits, with no strings attached and few reporting requirements, in contrast to many of her billionaire peers who opt for high-profile donations. She gave away $2 billion to 199 organisations last year, according to her Yield Giving website, bringing her total giving to $19.25 billion over roughly five years.  

 

Scott ended up with about 4 per cent of the tech giant after her 2019 divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Bezos still exercises voting authority over her holdings and is required to disclose them annually. Despite her donations, Scott remains wealthier than when she initially split with Bezos, as Amazon shares have surged. She’s pledged to give away the majority of her fortune.

 

It wasn’t immediately clear if the share count drop stemmed from sales or gifts. A request for comment sent to Scott and Yield Giving wasn’t immediately returned.

 

Scott was worth $41.2 billion before the latest disposal, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.