Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has once again reshaped the landscape of American higher education, announcing more than $700 million in donations to a group of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), one of the largest collective gifts in their history. The move is part of her ongoing effort to redistribute the vast wealth she acquired through her 2019 divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, a settlement that left her with a substantial multibillion-dollar stake in the company.
MacKenzie Scott’s transformative boost for Black higher education
Scott’s new round of giving includes donations to more than a dozen HBCUs, many of which have long struggled with lower endowments, limited resources and underinvestment. Institutions such as Howard University, Bowie State University, Prairie View A&M University and Philander Smith University were publicly confirmed as recipients of major gifts in this round.
Leaders across these schools described her contributions as transformative, noting that the unrestricted nature of Scott’s donations allows them to strengthen academic programmes, expand scholarships, renovate ageing facilities and invest in research without the usual reporting or conditions tied to large grants.Wayne A. I. Frederick, president of Howard University, which announced an $80 million gift from Scott, said the support reflects long-overdue trust in institutions that have historically been expected to achieve more with far fewer resources.Scott’s ability to donate at this scale stems from her 2019 divorce, which granted her a significant portion of Bezos’s Amazon shares. While the exact value fluctuated with the market, analysts widely noted that the settlement placed her in control of tens of billions of dollars. She later pledged to give away the majority of her wealth and has since embarked on one of the most ambitious philanthropic campaigns of the past decade.Scott’s philanthropic platform reports that she has donated around $19 billion to thousands of organisations since 2019, focusing on communities facing economic inequality, racial injustice and long-term underfunding. Her approach to giving, which avoids strict conditions and detailed oversight, stands in contrast to more traditional forms of billionaire philanthropy.According to Dr Marybeth Gasman of Rutgers University and public announcements from the universities themselves, the confirmed recipients include:
- Howard University
- Prairie View A&M University
- Morgan State University
- North Carolina A&T State University
- Bowie State University
- Norfolk State University
- Winston-Salem State University
- Virginia State University
- Alcorn State University
- Alabama State University
- Clark Atlanta University
- Spelman College
- University of Maryland Eastern Shore
- Voorhees University
- Philander Smith University
Several of these institutions have stated that Scott’s gifts are among the largest single donations in their histories.
A philanthropic strategy reshaping America
Several philanthropy scholars note that Scott’s rapid and largely unrestricted approach marks a significant shift in how major donors operate. Analysts including Anand Giridharadas have pointed out that her large gifts come with far fewer conditions than typical billionaire-funded grants. Dr Tyrone Freeman of Indiana University has observed that her focus on historically underfunded institutions has brought new visibility to communities often overlooked by major philanthropy. Another expert, Dr Leslie Lenkowsky, has described this emerging style of giving as a departure from the traditional model in which donors tightly control how their money is used.
