Divorced, millionaires and generous: How much did Scott and Gates give?

Despite being better known as the ex-wives of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, Mackenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates have become great names in the world of philanthropy and have donated over $28 billion. However, the two adopt very different strategies.

16/07/2026
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A philanthropist MacKenzie Scott was recently news for making another of his millionaire donations, but Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, is not the only former companion of a founder of a great technology to “give letters” in the world of philanthropy.

Bill Gates' ex-wife Melinda French Gates also has a known history of millionaire donations – even if she is behind Scott significantly in total value.

After Jeff Bezos' divorce in 2019, MacKenzie Scott became one of the great names of the world of philanthropy and, to date, the millionaire has donated through her Yield Giving foundation a total of more than $26 billion, equivalent to €22.68 billion.

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Scott's donations have reached areas such as humanitarian aid in disasters, health care, racial equality, art, culture and also education, and multimillion-dollar philanthropy adopts an approach where organizations that receive money have total freedom in the allocation of funds received.

More recently, Scott did a donation to Active Minds, an american non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing youth and young adults to combat mental health problems.

“ MacKenzie Scott's investment in Active Minds is transformative not only on its scale, but in the validation of younger people as the main drivers in the change around mental health”, says Active Minds founder and executive director Alison Malmon, according to Fortune. “ This donation allows us to make bold and long-planned investments in youth leadership and solutions created by young people to create a new era in mental health.”.

Melinda French Gates, who divorced Microsoft founder and former CEO Bill Gates in 2021, has been conservative in values but still active in donations. Since 2019 Melinda French Gates has committed to donating $2 billion to non-profit organizations that defend women and families.

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Melinda French Gates' great concern has been in gender equality, reproductive rights, maternal care and betting on expanding economic opportunities for women. The goal is, above all, to donate in areas where it considers that there will be more social impact in the long term.

Unlike Scott, who remains relatively discreet in the communication, Melinda French Gates has the habit of publicly explaining why she is donating to certain organizations or certain causes.

All in all, the two women, known in the mainstream as ex-wives of two founders of major technology companies, took advantage of divorces to invest their wealth in philanthropy – giving to date a total of over $28 billion, equivalent to $24.41 billion.