Some of the biggest names in philanthropy today are women. In fact, the biggest megadonor of 2025 was MacKenzie Scott, the famed novelist and philanthropist (and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) whose $7 billion in donations accounted for more than
one-third of America’s $19.2 billion in megagifts last year. Her total giving stands at
more than $26 billion.
Then there’s Melinda French Gates, who
stepped away from the Gates Foundation to create her own philanthropy, Pivotal Ventures, which has pledged $2 billion to women and families since 2019. French Gates was also one of the founders of the Giving Pledge, which encourages billionaires to give away the majority of their net worth during their lifetimes. (Although she’s recently called out fellow billionaires for
not following through.)
Finally, Lauren Sánchez Bezos has more recently entered the spotlight, having taken on more philanthropic work and responsibility since marrying Bezos in 2025. She
leads the charge behind the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, and has been the face of the couple’s other large philanthropic work during the past few years.
Each of these three women have the power, influence, and funds to make major change in the world possible. But they each have very different approaches in making that happen.
The volume of Scott’s giving and her voice don’t match. She’s
notoriously quiet and reserved about her gift giving. While her organization, Yield Giving, annually releases a document detailing the donations she made during the year, they never put out a press release or statement about any specific gifts she makes. Scott occasionally releases very writerly essays that offer a glimpse into the inspirations behind her philanthropy like her college
roommate and
dentist, but she doesn’t really ever put herself at the center of the story.
She also doesn’t have one singular theme or cause she backs. Rather, she’s given to thousands of organizations across causes including
disaster relief and recovery, DEI,
education, and much more. Scott also is rare in that she practices “
trust-based philanthropy,” meaning she doesn’t force recipients to go through what’s often a grueling application process and she doesn’t dictate how the organization has to spend the funds, a practice called unrestricted giving.
Meanwhile, French Gates’ entire organization is focused on accelerating social progress for women. As she recently told MPW Editor Emma Hinchliffe, she’s
putting $215 million toward women’s health, for a total of $600 million thus far. The funds will go toward care focused on reproductive health, menopause, and mental health.
So, French Gates has a more all-in approach when it comes to philanthropy, and is much more public about why she’s donating and why that work is important.
“Other philanthropists have also gotten afraid of doing that work,” French Gates told
Fortune’s Hinchliffe. “I’ve got to keep being bold and keep showing that, no, we can move forward and we should move forward.” She added that much of the fear has come from the Trump administration’s move to restrict those rights, which she said is “causing chaos and fear.”
Then there’s Sánchez Bezos, who has moved to the forefront of the couple’s philanthropic efforts, effectively steering a multibillion-dollar philanthropy while making other sizable donations to issues that matter to her.
During the past year, Sánchez Bezos, who is also a
New York Times bestselling author, founder, helicopter pilot, and Emmy Award–winning journalist, has become the more visible figure in the couple’s philanthropic orbit. In September 2025, she announced $37.5 million in grants to support marine protection across 12 Pacific Island nations and territories, part of a $100 million commitment to what the Bezos Earth Fund calls one of the boldest ocean conservation efforts ever attempted.
She also made a splash late last year when the
couple committed more than $100 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S. That commitment is part of the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund, which has donated more than $850 million to organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam.
Scott writes the checks and trusts the organization to use it wisely. French Gates picks a cause and her reasoning, and relishes being vocal about it. Sánchez Bezos is finding her own footing in the philanthropic spotlight.
Notably, none of them give money away the way the men who built modern philanthropy did (which was largely
institutionalized and apolitical). And none of them seem to be copying each other. That’s a shift worth watching: As philanthropic dollars
increasingly move through women’s hands, each one is deciding, on her own terms, where it lands.
Sydney Lakesydney.lake@fortune.com
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