Reason for Large-Scale Stock Sale Still Unclear
Scott Disposes of 6,530 Shares, Amounting to 25% of Holdings
MacKenzie Scott (53), the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos (60), founder of the world's largest e-commerce company Amazon, sold Amazon shares worth 14 trillion won last year. This was part of the settlement she received when they divorced in 2019.
On the 27th (local time), Bloomberg reported that Scott sold 65.3 million Amazon shares she held last year and recently reported it to regulatory authorities. Based on the closing price of Amazon shares on the 26th, $159.12, the total sale amounted to $10.4 billion (13.9152 trillion won).
The 65.3 million shares Scott sold last year represent about 0.6% of Amazon's total shares. This accounts for about 25% of the shares Scott held. As a result, Scott now holds about 1.9% of Amazon's shares. Scott received a 4% stake in Amazon as part of the settlement when she divorced Bezos in 2019. At that time, the value was $38.3 billion (about 52.2 trillion won). This was the largest divorce settlement in the world. About half of this has been sold over several years.
The reason why Scott suddenly sold a large amount of shares last year is unknown. However, since 2019, Scott has donated a total of $16.5 billion (about 22 trillion won) to 1,900 organizations. In the past year alone, she donated about $2.15 billion (about 2.83 trillion won) to 360 organizations including nonprofits and journalist associations. Earlier in 2019, she joined the Giving Pledge, pledging to donate most of her wealth. The Giving Pledge is a club of billionaires founded jointly by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates.
Despite astronomical donations, Scott's assets are estimated at $42.6 billion (about 57 trillion won). This is because the Amazon shares she received as part of the settlement have steadily increased in value. Her ex-husband Bezos's assets, mostly Amazon shares, amount to $184 billion (about 246.2 trillion won).
Scott was married to Bezos for 25 years before divorcing in 2019 due to Bezos's infidelity, and she remarried in 2021. In 2020, Scott was ranked first among women with the highest net worth worldwide.
Scott's tremendous philanthropic activities led Forbes to name her the world's most influential woman in 2021. At that time, Forbes stated, "Scott's philanthropy has completely overturned the way billionaires donate," and "she has provided a cause to improve the culture of billionaire giving."
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