The Unexpected Way Jeff Bezos' Ex-Wife MacKenzie Scott Helped Him Launch Amazon

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"Behind every successful man there stands a woman" is a bit of a paradoxical idiom. On the one hand, feminist theorists have critiqued it as an insulting trope that prioritizes male success over women's existence. On the other, more charitable hand, the phrase points to the many forgotten women who were responsible for pivotal moments in history, and it's certainly applicable to MacKenzie Scott. While people may not know her name, they certainly know Jeff Bezos'.

Although the truth about MacKenzie Scott and Jeff Bezos' divorce is pretty predictable, that doesn't mean that their road to being one of the richest couples in history was conventional. A year into their marriage, Bezos started to notice a sharp increase in the popularity of online marketplaces, and he brought the idea of a virtual bookstore to Scott. Although she acknowledged to Vogue, "I have no business sense whatsoever," she trusted her husband and his vision wholeheartedly, with the pair quitting their cushy jobs at the New York investment firm D. E. Shaw to start up a business in Seattle. She wasn't just along for the ride, though. In fact, she steered, driving for over 2,000 miles while Bezos typed up the 30-page business plan for what would become a multi-trillion dollar empire. 

In a 2013 interview with Charlie Rose, Scott shared how she "couldn't wait to hop in the car" and make the journey over Fourth of July weekend in 1994, with the pair taking Bezos' father's 1988 Chevy Blazer along for the journey. This business risk, and the "Traps" author's encouragement of her husband, are ultimately what facilitated the invention of the inescapable Amazon brand.

Aligning himself with the grand mythos of late 20th-century tech startups, former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos loves to think of himself as a "garage inventor." He discussed some of his experiences building contraptions in his family home during a speech at Bezos' old university, Princeton, for the class of 2010. The tech billionaire also took a moment to gush about the invaluable support of his then-wife, fellow Princeton grad MacKenzie Scott. 

Scott met her husband while interviewing for the New York City hedge fund D.E. Shaw back in 1993. She actually made the first move, inviting her future husband to a lunch that would predate their wedding by a mere six months. During a February 2013 interview with Vogue, the dedicated philanthropist recalled, "My office was next door to his, and all day long I listened to that fabulous laugh. How could you not fall in love with that laugh?" It was only one year into their marriage when Bezos proposed their transition across the country to allow his online bookselling business to take shape. 

A lot has changed since then, of course, though it's worth noting that this isn't exactly a "rags to riches" story – as a senior vice president at D.E. Shaw, Bezos had a nearly $2 million salary, adjusted for inflation. Understanding how and where to invest your money is a luxury in and of itself. However, that doesn't negate the fact that money can't buy a clear conscience, but Scott has certainly tried. After walking away with billions in their 2019 divorce, Bezos' ex-wife has donated a staggering amount of money.