The Truth About Jeff Bezos' Relationship With Mackenzie Scott
On January 9, 2019, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced on Twitter that he and his wife of 25 years, Mackenzie Scott were divorcing (via CNET). Bezos stated that they had made the decision after a, "long period of loving exploration and a trial separation." According to Vogue, the pair met in 1992 while they were both working for D.E. Shaw, a New York-based hedge fund. Scott was a San Francisco native who had previously attended Princeton. She studied fiction and her mentor was none other than acclaimed author Toni Morrison. Bezos and Scott eventually married in 1993, and in 1994 they moved to Seattle to start Amazon from their garage.
As GREY Journal explains, Amazon's early success as a bookseller can largely be attributed to Scott. When Bezos described his new business idea, she encouraged him to pursue the venture. Eventually they both quit their jobs to do so. In a 1999 interview with Wired, Scott explained that she drove the pair across the country to Seattle while Bezos wrote out the business plan. Furthermore, she stated that she arranged one of Amazon's first freight contracts and planned business meetings, all from a Starbucks inside of a Barnes & Noble.
Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott's family life
Scott continued to help Bezos build Amazon into the mega conglomerate that it is today, all while raising the couple's four children and writing two books. According to Distractify, they welcomed three sons and one adopted daughter during their marriage. Only their oldest son's name, Preston, is publicly known. He was born in 2000 and is a student at his mother's alma mater, Princeton. The other children's lives have remained private.
In a 2013 interview with Vogue, Scott gave insight about her marriage to Bezos. She revealed that they had opposite personalities. While he's an extrovert, she prefers to keep things low-key. However, she expressed that this is what made the marriage work. Moreover, Scott said that she fell in love with Bezos because of his laugh and that they were married only six months after their first date.
Despite the couple's immense wealth and success, friends stated that they acted like any other family. Scott drove a Honda minivan to pick up the kids from school while Bezos ran Amazon. Insider reports that Bezos and Scott often gushed about each other and their incredible marriage, and at one point they were one of the richest couples in history. What went wrong? Hours after Bezos announced their divorce, The National Enquirer revealed that he had a mistress.
Jeff Bezos' affair drama
According to The National Enquirer, Jeff Bezos was having an affair with Lauren Sanchez, a married woman. They disclosed texts between the two that were sent in the Spring of 2018, months before Bezos announced his impending divorce to Scott. The South China Morning Post writes that Lauren is a former news anchor that owns an aviation company. It's reported that her brother, Michael Sanchez, leaked texts and photos to the Enquirer in exchange for $200,000 (via Insider). Bezos later declared that he was being exhorted and blackmailed by the company (per The Guardian).
He stated that the leaks were politically motivated as Bezos owns The Washington Post — a publication that was critical of then-President Trump and his policies. At the time, The National Enquirer's publisher AMI was led by David Pecker, a longtime friend of Trump's. It's believed Bezos publicized his divorce in an effort to take control of the situation. Ultimately, People reports that both Scott and Sanchez's husband Patrick Whitesell, knew of their affair long before it hit the news. Sanchez and Whitesell later divorced in April 2019, per Town & Country.
Who is Lauren Sanchez?
Town & Country reports that Bezos and Sanchez met through her former Hollywood agent husband, Patrick Whitesell. Sanchez and Whitesell have friends in common with Bezos and often attended the same events. Per The South China Morning Post, Sanchez has been in the limelight for decades; she had previously been a correspondent for "Extra" and a news anchor for "Good Day LA." Likewise, she has been in films including "Fight Club," "The Day After Tomorrow," and more. Sanchez is a licensed pilot and it's reported that Bezos hired her to take aerial photos for one of his projects.
It's now believed that this is how the relationship might have started. According to Insider, Bezos and Sanchez made their first public appearance as a couple in the summer of 2019. Since then, the pair have been out and about all around the world. They have also been frequently spotted vacationing with other celebrities. When Bezos took a short flight to space on his Blue Origins Rocket in July 2021, Sanchez was there to greet him when he landed back on Earth. Most recently, HOLA! wrote that Bezos and Sanchez are working together in an effort to protect land in Columbia's Amazon forest.
Mackenzie Scott's immense wealth
As for Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott, Reuters reports that they finalized their divorce in July, 2019. As part of the settlement, she received nearly $40 billion in Amazon stocks. Scott's divorce from Bezos subsequently made her one of the world's wealthiest women (via Vogue). Since her divorce, Scott pledged that she would donate much of her riches to charity. She has kept her promise. A New York Times article from December 2020 revealed that she had donated millions to lesser-known universities and colleges that primarily serve minority and lower-income students. This included giving Prairie View A&M University in Texas $50 million.
Scott wrote on Medium that the COVID pandemic had caused her to increase her donations at a larger pace than she expected. As she explained, people were suffering but billionaires were continuing to rake it in. Ultimately, she gave away $6 billion in 2020. Scott was applauded for her efforts and news organization Common Dreams noted that other billionaires should learn from her. Meanwhile, the opposite was being said of her ex-husband Bezos. Per The Guardian, the pandemic had made him much wealthier than he already was, yet he failed to adequately ensure safety precautions for his Amazon warehouse workers.
Mackenzie Scott's new husband
In March 2021, CNN reported that Mackenzie Scott found love again and that she had remarried. According to People, her new husband is Dan Jewett, a Seattle-based science teacher. Scott and Jewett reportedly met at the private school he taught at. Her children began attending the school in 2019, per The Washington Post. Former students describe Jewett as a positive and encouraging educator. Bezos also praised Jewett and exclaimed that he was happy for the newlywed couple. Shortly after their marriage was announced, Jewett wrote a letter for Giving Pledge, an organization that urges the world's wealthiest people to donate their money to charity.
In it, he stated that, "I am married to one of the most generous and kind people I know — and joining her in a commitment to pass on an enormous financial wealth to serve others." Scott had previously written her own letter on the website in 2019, soon after her divorce from Bezos where she divulged her plans for giving away most of her wealth. As for Jeff Bezos, an Instagram post on his page from February 2022 shows that he and Lauren Sanchez are still very much together.