When novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced in 2019, after her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, that she would give away a significant portion of her Amazon fortune “until the safe is empty,” few imagined how profoundly her quiet generosity would reshape American higher education.
That same year, she donated an estimated $560 million to 23 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)—one of the largest single infusions of private capital into Black higher education in U.S. history. Five years later, in 2025, just this past month, Scott followed with another almost $300 million in gifts to institutions including Howard, Morgan State, Spelman, Virginia State, Alcorn State, and the United Negro College Fund to name a few—bringing her total HBCU giving to just under $900 million, with more expected in the months and years ahead.
Scott’s unrestricted philanthropy gives historically Black colleges the freedom—and responsibility—to strengthen endowments, expand research, and reimagine their futures.
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You can build a rocket or you can uplift countless young people. I’m so glad for people like her.
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Great news!
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She’s fantastic. More people should follow in her footsteps.
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