MacKenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates’s momentous year of giving

It’s not unusual for the ultra-rich to be devoted philanthropists, and many American billionaires, including each woman’s famous ex-husband, have pledged to give away most of their wealth. But with French Gates and Scott wielding so much influence and giving away so much money in so short a time, their efforts are changing how others give as well.

Scott’s donations are unusual for a number of reasons, but perhaps most significantly, they are unrestricted—organizations can use them how they see fit, which is atypical for wealthy donors who tend to attach plenty of strings. Scott’s funds aren’t tied up in a foundation or grant program; she is working with a team of consultants to give strategically to charities large and small, and leaving it up to the organizations she selects to spend the money wisely.

She focuses on organizations devoted to economic security and opportunity, child development, and healthcare access. She gave out more than $2 billion in 2024, bringing her giving total to more $19 billion over the past five years; according to Forbes, she is one of America’s top lifetime gifters, despite starting in earnest in 2019. Still, she is worth an estimated $31 billion thanks to the rising share price of the Amazon stock she received in the divorce from the company’s founder Jeff Bezos (had she held onto her entire stake, she’d be worth $87 billion today, according to Forbes—one of the 20 richest people in the world).

French Gates has a long philanthropic history—but 2024 marked a significant shift in her strategy. She resigned from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in May, leaving a 25-year-old charity she helped build into one of the largest in the world. She then put out an “open call” for nonprofits related to the betterment of women and girls to apply for grants from her Pivotal organization, pledging $1 billion over the next two years. Like Scott, she is leaving it to the individuals and organizations to make their own decisions on how to best use the funds. French Gates was spurred by the overturn of Roe v. Wade to double down on her efforts on promoting women’s health, getting political in the process.

By “using my own personal resources to put substantial investments behind women or minorities,” French Gates told NPR earlier this year, “I am pointing in a direction, I hope, for other philanthropists or even other governments.”

There are many questions to be answered about how this new charitable dynamic will work out. But it’s no surprise that Scott and French Gates, two of the most powerful women in the country, are at the helm of this shift, seemingly unbothered by criticism from the powerful men who disapprove of their charity. I look forward to seeing what they have in store this year. 

Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com

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